India, April 14 -- E
arly experiments with sound were, by default, linked to music.
The Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras discovered, in the 6th century BCE, that harmony could also be a matter of math. There are ratios at play that indicate (or determine, who can say) which notes sound best together, when played on certain instruments. (Scan the QR code at left for a bit more on this.)
About 1,000 years later, in the 16th century, the modern study of waves and acoustics began, with Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei exploring the relationship between the pitch of a taut string and its vibrating length. It wasn't until the late-17th century that the French physicist Joseph Sauveur first suggested the name acoustics for the s...