Wanda Diaz Merced: How a blind astronomer found a way to hear the stars
Wanda Diaz Merced: Kako je slijepa astronomkinja pronašla način da čuje zvijezde
While searching for ways to study stellar radiation without relying on sight, Wanda Diaz Merced has developed a way to represent complex data about our universe as sound. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
the mass of our sun
većom od našeg Sunca
of her regular star days
svojih zvjezdanih dana
srž njezina života,
and in the process
ogromnu količinu energije,
our sun will release in 10 days.
koliku sunce emitira u deset dana.
into another role in our galaxy.
are even more extreme.
gama zrake još su žešće.
under its own weight
uruši pod vlastitom težinom,
their arms in close to their body.
and it increases, powerfully,
is dragged around,
is transferred to that matter
prenosi se na materiju
is increased even further.
to outshine the rest of the galaxy
kojom može zasjeniti ostatak galaksije
is 1,000 trillion times
tisuću je trilijuna puta jače
ever measured by astronomers
as bursts most or explosions,
bljeskove ili eksplozije,
that became a magnetar,
koja je postala magnetar,
portion of the explosion.
are the strongest events
najsnažniji događaji
an itty bitty, tiny portion
that we call visible light.
koji nazivamo vidljivom svjetlošću.
we study a wider range of light
širi doseg svjetlosti
of light over time.
intenzitet svjetlosti u vremenu.
depend on this kind of plot
koriste ovakve grafove
this light intensity changes over time.
intenziteta svjetlosti tijekom vremena.
the light intensity without a burst,
svjetlosti bez gama-bljeska,
the light intensity with the burst.
za vrijeme gama-bljeska.
I could also see this kind of plot.
i ja sam mogla vidjeti ovakav graf.
because of extended illness,
the opportunity to see this plot
mogućnost da vidim ovaj graf
teško prijelazno razdoblje.
for me in many ways.
without a way to do my science.
više mogla baviti znanošću.
this energetic light
proučavati tu energetsku svjetlost
the spacious wonder, the excitement,
to ogromno čudo, uzbuđenje,
of such a titanic celestial event.
takvog divovskog nebeskog otkrića.
that all a light curve is,
da je krivulja svjetlosti
converted into a visual plot.
u obliku vizualnog grafa.
the numbers into sound.
na prevođenju brojeva u zvuk.
at the level of the best astronomer,
na razini najboljeg astronoma,
(Applause continues)
(Pljesak se nastavlja)
that you're seeing on the screen
koje vidite na ekranu
beyond the obvious burst.
na nešto osim samog bljeska.
converted into sound,
pretvoreni u zvuk,
brought something to the ear
low-frequency regions,
niskih frekvencija
into the bass line now.
povećavam sliku nulte linije.
of electrically charged gasses
kod električki nabijenih plinova
decrease in volume.
smanjenje jakosti zvuka.
I'm giving you a red line
prikaz crvenom krivuljom
is being converted into sound.
koju se pretvara u zvuk.
don't pay attention to that.
kod kuće, zanemarite ih.
in order to support wave resonances,
za podržavanje rezonancija valova,
of energy between particles
energije među česticama,
that the matter around the star
da se materija oko zvijezde
and field distribution
frekvencija i distribucija
about a super-massive star
o super-masivnoj zvijezdi
magnetic field magnetar.
snažnim magnetskim poljem.
from the exploding star
ostatke eksplodirane zvijezde
with this gamma-ray burst.
may be a very important part
brought us to the notion
navelo nas je na pomisao
as an adjunctive visual display
dodatnog vizualnog prikaza
information in the data.
measurements from other telescopes,
mjerenja drugih teleskopa
as an adjunctive visual display,
dodatnog vizualnog zaslona
power of transformation.
ogromnu moć transformacije.
that is so visual may be improved
usmjereno na vid može poboljšati
in understanding what lies in the heavens
žele razumjeti što se krije u nebesima,
and quality of information
with the sonification process
postupak sonifikacije,
to be a productive member of the field
produktivan član u području
is not the only area in astronomy
jedino područje u astronomiji
ne idu ukorak s vremenom.
a disability at any point.
at the top of their careers.
na vrhuncu svojih karijera.
if they develop a disability?
postanu osobe s invaliditetom?
izopćeno poput mene?
empowers us to flourish.
omogućuje nam da napredujemo.
to display our talents
da pokažemo svoje talente
to do with our lives,
on potential barriers.
to succeed without limits,
da uspiju bez ograničavanja,
and prospering life.
i produktivnom životu.
of sound in astronomy
and to contribute to science.
kao i da doprinesemo znanosti.
that the study of perception techniques
da proučavanje tehnika percepcije
is not relevant to astronomy
iz astronomije nije svrsishodno
astronomers in the field,
people with disabilities
da osobe s invaliditetom
Astronomical Observatory,
for Development.
techniques and analysis methods
tehnike sonifikacije i metode analize
of the Athlone School for the Blind.
Athlone, škole za slijepe .
radio astronomy,
the sonification methods
like huge ejections of energy
događaje poput velikih erupcija energije
coronal mass ejections.
koronarne masovne erupcije.
and coping strategies
i poteškoće sa suočavanjem
will directly impact
s ovim učenicima izravno će utjecati
at the professional level.
with disabilities
osobe s invaliditetom
and with society.
s poviješću i društvom.
scientific playing field,
and respect each other,
poštivanje i poštuju jedni druge,
and discover together.
strategije i zajedno otkrivaju.
are allowed into the scientific field,
otvorimo put u znanost,
of knowledge will take place,
divovska erupcija znanja.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wanda Diaz Merced - Sonic astrophysicistWhile searching for ways to study stellar radiation without relying on sight, Wanda Diaz Merced has developed a way to represent complex data about our universe as sound.
Why you should listen
When Wanda Diaz Merced lost her sight in her early 20s, her dreams of studying stars in the visually oriented scientific world suffered a major setback -- until she discovered “sonification,” a way to turn huge data sets into audible sound using pitch, duration and other properties. Merced realized that she could use her ears to detect patterns in stellar radio data, and could uncover connections obscured by graphs and visual representation.
While working at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Merced’s sonifications inspired musician and researcher Gerhard Sonnert to create X-Ray Hydra, an album of oddly jazzy music based on her audio representations.
Wanda Diaz Merced | Speaker | TED.com