Cymatics, the Shape of Sound

That was white rice. Did I mention you should turn your sound down? Watch the pets as well.

Cymatics is the study of sound waves in a medium. One of the earliest to mention this phenomena in writing was Galileo Galilei in his "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" published in 1632, but some of the patterns can be seen in ancient art. However the term cymatics was not coined until much later, in the 1967 book titled Kymatik by the Swiss scientist Hans Jenny, who was inspired by the earlier work of Ernst Chladni.

So how is it done? A plate of glass or metal covered with lycopodium, flour, sand or rice is vibrated by stroking the edge with a violin bow, a speaker placed underneath, a piezoelectric amplifier, a mechanical wave driver or other methods.

Here are some of the best videos of cymatics in action.

One of Dr.Hans Jenny’s rare old movies:

Weather cocks? NVM that, here is a newer one:

A liquid medium:

A compilation of several set to music:

Enough of that, I think I got a headache now!