Composer Christine Southworth (S.B. 2002) rehearses "Zap!," a composition in which the Van de Graaff generator provides static and flashing lights for her musical composition with flutes, guitar, cello, bass, piano, robots and human voices. "Zap!" will be performed at the Museum of Science's Theater of Electricity (Science Park, Boston) on Friday, April 27 at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. as part of the Cambridge Science Festival. Tickets cost $10; for more information, see cambridgesciencefestival.org/. Photo / Bill Southworth

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on April 25, 2007 (download PDF).