Music
Watch an opera singer belt it out while undergoing an MRI
by Richard Howard
May 9, 2016
This captivating footage shows the science behind opera singing.
If you’ve ever had an MRI, the thing that will most likely stick with you is how irritating it is to have to stay absolutely still for at least 30 minutes (unless you’re claustrophobic, in which case the takeaway will be abject terror).
Turns out, though, there’s a thing called a Real Time MRI, which allows the same internal imaging of movement. It’s great for looking at joints and the heart, but the eggheads at German teaching hospital Universitätsklinikum Freiburg (University Medical Center Freiburg) have discovered its most entertaining use yet: creating video of a disembodied human head singing its heart out.
Now, they could have gone with a Miley Cyrus number, but some Very Smart Scientist realized the ominous sound of an opera singer would result in an engrossing aural/visual combination guaranteed to get mad clicks. Check out the equal parts fascinating, hilarious, and terrifying video of the singer performing a Wagner classic below:
