Harmonic Ratios
When a string vibrates, it produces not one frequency but a series - the fundamental and its overtones, related by integer ratios: 2:1, 3:2, 4:3. This is not a human invention. It is a physical consequence of wave mechanics.
The same ratios appear in the emission spectra of hydrogen atoms. They appear in the orbital resonances of planets. They appear in the frequency relationships of biological systems - from the firing patterns of neurons to the oscillations of protein structures.
This is the foundation of LIFE.
Why ratios and not absolutes
The convention of 440 Hz for concert A is exactly that - a convention. It has changed throughout history and varies between orchestras. The ratio 3:2 - a perfect fifth - does not change. It is true for any physical system that vibrates, anywhere in the observable universe.
LIFE expresses all frequencies as ratios for this reason. A .life file encoded today will be interpretable by any system that understands wave physics, regardless of what unit conventions that system uses.
The harmonic series in nature
- Vibrating strings - a plucked string produces its fundamental and integer multiples simultaneously
- Resonant air columns - wind instruments produce the same series
- Atomic emission spectra - hydrogen produces light at frequencies related by simple ratios
- Orbital resonances - Jupiter's moons Io, Europa, and Ganymede orbit in a 1:2:4 ratio
- Neural oscillations - brainwave frequencies show harmonic relationships
The harmonic series is not a musical concept. It is a physical one. Music discovered it. Physics owns it.