The Sound Of Spectra

The marimba is rarely called for when analyzing chemical data. But it is the instrument of choice for a team of educators who have adapted infrared spectra into an audio format for use by visually impaired scientists and students (J. Chem. Educ. 2013, DOI: 10.1021/ed4000124). Florbela Pereira, Joao Aires-de-Sousa, and coworkers at the New University of Lisbon used open-source software—available on their MOLInsight project page—to convert IR data to MIDI format, a type of digital music file. The magnitude of the IR peaks, normally the y axis in spectra, is represented by the pitch, with a higher note indicating a stronger signal. The frequency, normally the x axis, is represented by time. After some training, a group of visually impaired students were able to correctly identify the main functional groups represented in sample spectra and use that information to identify organic molecules. The software could be easily extended to other types of spectra. One student, Sérgio Neves, says the approach “allows me to summarize the spectral data into a small audio graphic, providing a more global overview of the spectrum.”