Einstein contra Aristotle: the sound from the heavens

TL;DR

This paper explores the historical debate on cosmic sound, contrasting Aristotle's skepticism with recent gravitational wave detections by LIGO that produce a form of cosmic sound, linking modern physics with ancient ideas.

Contribution

It highlights the surprising alignment of Einstein's gravitational wave discoveries with Pythagorean notions of cosmic music, challenging Aristotle's skepticism.

Findings

LIGO detected gravitational waves from black holes

Gravitational waves can be interpreted as cosmic sound

Modern physics resonates with ancient Pythagorean ideas

Abstract

In "On the Heavens" Aristotle criticizes the Pythagorean point of view which claims the existence of a cosmic music and a cosmic sound. According to the Pythagorean argument, there exists a cosmic music produced by stars and planets. These celestial bodies generate sound in its movements, and the music appears due to the cosmic harmony. For Aristotle, there is no sound produced by celestial bodies. Then, there is no music as well. However, recently, LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Waves Observatory) has detected the gravitational waves predicted by Einstein. In some sense, a sound originated from black holes has been heard. That is, Einstein or the General Relativity and LIGO appear to be with the Pythagoreanism and against the master of the Lyceum.