This is how Big Ben's harmonious sound was created

New Delhi: Using lasers, scientists have analysed how the Big Ben produced its hormonious sounds.

The "bong" of Big Ben is produced when its huge 200kg hammer hits the side of the bell, setting off vibrations in the metal and causing the entire bell to pulsate, researchers said.

Officially known as the Great Bell, Big Ben is the largest of five bells that hang in the belfry of Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster.

It is thicker than other bells of a similar size, weighing more and as a result having a higher pitch than expected, said Martin Cockrill from the University of Leicester, who led the study.

Researchers said that although we perceive the chime of Big Ben to be a single sound, it is actually made up of a series of distinct frequencies.

They used two lasers to scan Big Ben as it chimed at 9, 10, 11 and 12 O'clock, 'BBC News' reported.

Scientists employed a technique called "laser Doppler vibrometry," which involved creating a 3D computer model of Big Ben.

(With PTI inputs)