Between music and molecular studies: the third tone according to Hermann von Helmholtz.

In 1713, the famous violinist Giuseppe Tartini found that, while playing two different notes at the same time, another sound could be heard. He called it “the third tone”. This phenomenon was extensively studied by several scientists, one for all Hermann von Helmholtz, who built specific resonators to demonstrate his theories. Only with the modern research, we were able to give the physiological and molecular explanation of the third tone.