Xref: utzoo rec.music.classical:19869 sci.math:15329 sci.chem:3194 sci.bio:4471 soc.history:3410 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!parc!batali From: batali@parc.xerox.com (John Batali) Newsgroups: rec.music.classical,sci.math,sci.chem,sci.bio,soc.history Subject: Re: Scientists and Mathematicians Who Wrote Music Message-ID: Date: 22 Feb 91 17:05:12 GMT References: <1991Feb14.203016.7687@ms.uky.edu> <1991Feb15.190127.7368@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <6608@shawm.misemi> Sender: news@parc.xerox.com Organization: Xerox PARC, Palo Alto, CA Lines: 23 In-Reply-To: morrow@shawm.misemi's message of 19 Feb 91 14:10:55 GMT Some of the most famous composers were major contributers to science and technology. Beethoven, for example, carried on an extensive correspondence with Lagrange and Edmund Halley about the dynamics of the early solar system and one of his letters contains the earliest written account of the theory that the sun and planets formed from a rotating, condensing, mass of gas. C. F. E. Bach was almost as well known during his lifetime for his investigations of the mechanisms of inter-cellular transport of cyclic-ATP as for his music. Georg Telemann's work on the accustic properties of metals at high temperatures was motivated by his horn concertos, and Vivaldi's invention of the hypersonic wind-tunnel was one of the reasons that Italy in the 18th century was so dominant in the aerospace industry. And of course I don't need to remind everyone about Mozart's early years as a UNIX pioneer. He wrote the first version of GREP at the age of 9. His programming career was cut short when he discovered and exploited the famous `ping' security trapdoor and brought the entire Salzburg network down the day before the state visit of the crown prince in 1769. Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com