April 27, 2023
Blog by Thomas Lack
Free Radicals is Available Now!
Following the 1928 Vintage Steinway Piano, Free Angels, and Free ASMR, Free Radicals is our 4th free library in Soundpaint! Like Free Angels and Free ASMR, Free Radicals was made in collaboration with our community, with over 100 sound designers and musicians giving their interpretation of what sonic beauty is to them. So, let’s explore the kinds of sounds you’ll find in Free Radicals…
In chemistry, a free radical is a type of molecule that has at least one unpaired electron in its outer shell. This makes it very unstable and reactive, and it can cause damage to other molecules by stealing their electrons or changing their structure. Free radicals are produced naturally in the body as a result of normal metabolism, but they can also come from external sources such as pollution, smoking, radiation, or certain drugs. Free radicals can harm cells, proteins, and DNA, and contribute to aging and diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. Antioxidants are substances that can neutralize free radicals by donating electrons or breaking them down. Antioxidants are found in many foods, especially fruits and vegetables, and they can also be taken as supplements. Antioxidants can protect the body from oxidative stress, which is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants.
Am I thinking of the wrong subject? Okay, let me try again!
Radicals in mathematics are expressions that involve a root, which is the opposite of an exponent. The root of a number is another number that, when raised to a certain power, gives the original number. The power is called the index or degree of the root, and it is shown before the radical symbol √. The most common radicals are the square root and the cube root, which have the index 2 and 3 respectively.
Radicals can be simplified, multiplied, divided, added or subtracted using some general rules and properties. To simplify a radical, we can use the product or quotient rule to split the radicand (the number under the radical) into factors that have integer roots. For example, √27 can be simplified as √9 × √3 = 3√3. To multiply or divide two radicals, they must have the same index. Then we can use the product or quotient rule to combine or separate the radicands. For example, √2 × √3 = √6.
Radicals are useful for representing irrational numbers, such as √2 or √3, that cannot be written as fractions. They are also used to model some real-world phenomena, such as distances, areas, volumes, rates of change and trigonometric functions. Radicals are not so radical after all, are they? They are just another way of expressing numbers and operations in mathematics. They can be useful and fun to play with, as long as you follow some basic rules and properties. So don't be afraid of radicals, embrace them!
Still the wrong one? Okay, I think I have it this time…
Radicals in linguistics are units of meaning that can form the basis of words or word families. They are also known as roots or root morphemes. Radicals can be either free morphemes, which can stand alone as words, or bound morphemes, which must be attached to other elements. For example, the radical "run" is a free morpheme that can form words like "runner", "running", "outrun", etc. The radical "rupt" is a bound morpheme that cannot be used as a word by itself, but can form words like "rupture", "interrupt", "corrupt", etc.
Free morphemes can be classified into two types: content words and function words. Content words are words that have a specific meaning and can be nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs. Function words are words that have a grammatical role and can be articles, prepositions, pronouns, or conjunctions.
Radicals are important for understanding the structure and history of languages. They can show how words are related to each other semantically and etymologically. They can also reveal the patterns of inflection and derivation that shape words. For instance, in Semitic languages, radicals are usually composed of three consonants that indicate a basic concept, and different vowel patterns and affixes are added to create different words. For example, the Arabic radical k-t-b means "write" and can form words like kataba (he wrote), kitaab (book), maktaba (library), etc.
Radicals can also vary in form depending on the context and the language. Some languages have complex processes of sound change that alter the shape of radicals in different words. For example, in English, the radical "mouse" changes to "mice" in the plural form. Some languages have different ways of writing radicals, such as using symbols or diacritics. For example, in Chinese, radicals are part of the characters that represent words or syllables, and they often indicate the meaning or category of the word. For example, the radical 氵(shui) means "water" and appears in characters like 河 (river), 海 (sea), 洗 (wash), etc.
Radicals are essential for learning and analyzing languages, as they help to identify the core meaning and origin of words. So, Free Radicals is an instrument made from free morphemes, such as Dog, Ocean, Book, Happy, Red, Run, Funny, And, & The.
No, that’s definitely not right. This time I’ll get it for sure!
Free Radicals, the Soundpaint instrument, is an exploration of dark sounds! With viral ambiences, bacterial hits, parasitical risers, and more, it is the perfect collection for eerie, skin-crawling music and sound. We can describe the sounds all day long, but the best way to get Radical is to experience it for yourself! It’s free, so what are you waiting for? Download Free Radicals and start making your own dark instruments and music!
