Cosmic Octave Calculator

One Calculation for Time, Sound and Light

The Cosmic Octave Calculator translates any period, frequency or wavelength into a tone, a tuning, a tempo, a colour and the octave analogues in the brainwave bands. It is based on the octave principle that the Swiss mathematician Hans Cousto described in Die Kosmische Oktave (1984): doubling or halving a frequency does not change its tone, so any periodic phenomenon can be brought into the audible range – and into the range of visible light – without losing its identity.

The same calculation runs in every Icosmo tool. It is how the Icosmo Matrix gives a planet, a molecule and an hour of the day a common language.

Enter one of three values and press ⏎:

• Time – any period in years, days, hours, minutes or seconds. The presets contain the rotation of the Sun, the orbits of the planets, the tropical year of the Earth, the cycles of the Moon and the orbits of major moons.
• Frequency – any frequency from Hz to THz. The presets contain frequencies that are often cited, such as the Schumann resonance (7.83 Hz), 432 Hz and the Solfeggio series, so they can be compared on the same scale.
• Wavelength – any length from nanometres to kilometres, for example the wavelength of a colour or of a radio signal.

Clear All resets the calculator.

The calculated tone loads into the player at once:

• Base Freq, Master A4 and Pitch show the tone, its tuning and its deviation in cents.
• oct and semi move the tone by octaves and semitones.
• The three buttons at the top switch the tone, the metronome and the heartbeat on and off.
• Rate, Length and Tempo set the metronome; the tempo comes from the calculation.
• Player Volume sets the volume.

Tone & Tuning:

• Frequency – the frequency of the input value.
• Octave – the number of octaves to the audible range.
• Tone Frequ. – the tone in the audible range.
• Key and Pitch – the nearest key and the deviation in cents from the standard tuning A4 = 440 Hz.
• Tuning – the A4 in which the tone is an exact key.
• Tempo and Delay – the tempo in beats per minute and the matching delay time.

Colour:
The tone raised into the range of visible light (380–780 nm), with its wavelength, its colour name and the colour codes HEX, RGB and CMYK. The colour follows the twelve colours of the Icosmo Matrix and is blended towards the neighbouring colour by the deviation in cents.

Brainwaves:
The tone octaved down into the frequency bands of the EEG: Delta (0.5–4 Hz), Alpha (8–12 Hz), Beta (12–30 Hz) and Gamma (30–100 Hz). For the Earth year: 2.13 Hz, 8.51 Hz, 17.01 Hz and 68.05 Hz. The values are octave analogues of the tone; they make no claim about an effect on the brain.

Time:
The period of the input value in years, days, hours, minutes and seconds.