Sound -> Vibration -> Waves -> Cymatics

posted by Admin on Sun, 20/09/2015 - 22:21
Scope: 
Science

This video isn't really Science versus Music, but rather one of the places where Science and Art meet. In this case the science makes the music visible.
This kind of science is called Cymatics

 

Collin's Lab: DIY Cymatics

 

Wave effect visualized!

Good vibrations: the science of sound

We look around us—constantly. But how often do we listen around us? Sound is critically important to our bodies and brains, and to the wider natural world. In the womb, we hear before we see. Join John Schaefer, Jamshed Bharucha, Christopher Shera, the Danish sound artist Jacob Kirkegaard and multi-instrumentalists Polygraph Lounge for a fascinating journey through the nature of sound. How we perceive it, how it acts upon us and how it profoundly affects our well-being—including a demonstration of sounds produced by sources as varied as the human inner ear and the creation of the universe itself.

 

Sound resonance experiment

This experiment is the Chladni plate experiment. I used a tone generator, a wave driver (speaker) and a metal plate attached to the speaker. First add sand to the plate then begin playing a tone. Certain frequencies vibrate the metal plate in such a way that it creates areas where there is no vibration. The sand "falls" into those areas, creating beautiful geometric patterns. As the frequency increases in pitch the patterns become more complex.

 

The physics of sound creating form

Here you can see the power of sound creating form. (an earlier version of the experiment above)
A simple experiment demonstrating the visualisation of cymatics can be done by sprinkling sand on a metal plate and vibrating the plate, for example by drawing a violin bow along the edge, the sand will then form itself into standing wave patterns such as simple concentric circles. The higher the frequency, the more complex the shapes produced, with certain shapes having similarities to traditional mandala designs.

 

Sound & Water Experiment

The effect that you are seeing can't be seen with the naked eye. The effect only works through the camera. However, there is a version of the project you can do where the effect would be visible with the naked eye. For that project, you'd have to use a strobe light.

 

Sound & Flames

Sound waves are transmitted through a flammable gas creating alternating high and low pressure zones. This creates the flame pattern.

 

Links