Einstein, Hawking and Rees set to music, singing about virtual particles, tiny satellite will soon blast off

Singing multiverse: the Salisbury Chamber Chorus. (Courtesy: Salisbury Chamber Chorus)

By Hamish Johnston

“What I wanted to write was something about the universe and our place in it: from the Big Bang, through our insignificance in the vastness of it all, our need for exploration and where space travel will take us, to the nature of light or the make-up of electrons, and finally ideas about multiverses and infinity.”

That is the motivation behind the “secular oratorio” Space Time Matter Energy by Simon McEnery, which premieres at St Mary le Strand Church in London on 10 June. The piece melds the words of famous physicists such as Stephen Hawking, Martin Rees and Albert Einstein with music and song from the Salisbury Chamber Chorus, the percussion ensemble Beaten Track and the pianist Peter Toye.  If you can’t be in London on the 10th, there is also a performance in Salisbury on 17 June.

Sticking with the musical theme, theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder’s career as a singer-songwriter looks set to take off with the release of three music videos in one month. Her latest song is about virtual particles and you can watch it above.

He may be just 15 years old, but India’s Rifath Shaarook has designed and built what is claimed to be the lightest satellite ever to be launched by rocket. Shaarook made the external shell of his 64 g satellite from 3D-printed carbon fibre. “It will have a new kind of onboard computer and eight indigenous built-in sensors to measure acceleration, rotation and the magnetosphere of the Earth,” he told the Daily Telegraph. The satellite was a winning entry in the Cubes in Space design competition and will be launched in June by NASA. The rocket will follow a non-orbiting parabolic trajectory before returning to Earth.