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What did the Liberty Bell sound like? Science is on the case

Penn State Behrend researchers used a twentieth-century replica to study the bell's vibrations; elsewhere, a fitness tracker now charges for syncing your own steps.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on The Five O'Clock
Published 4:07 PM ET, Thursday, October 15, 2026

Photo: William Zhang · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

▶ As it aired · Tech

Watch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from The Five O'Clock at 4:07 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Ars Technica's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: William Zhang · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

Photo: Liberty Bell — Photo: William Zhang · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

At a glance

First reported by Ars Technica: “What did the Liberty Bell sound like? Science is on the case.”
Covered on BBN on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 4:07 PM ET on The Five O'Clock, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

Ars TechnicaWhat did the Liberty Bell sound like? Science is on the case.

What BBN said about it

Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentResearchers at Penn State Behrend studied a twentieth-century replica of the Liberty Bell to work out what the cracked original sounded like, using something called modal analysis, which means measuring how the metal vibrates.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo they're basically leaking the bell's lost album. I'd stream that.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentIt's a replica plus physics, not an album.

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