

This creates nodes and antinodes (behaviour of the waves at the points of minimum and maximum vibrations, in this case, points of amplified peaks and troughs) (The walls of the circular dish) the energy is then reflected back on itself. As the surface waves on the water are moving perpendicular (right angled) to the direction of energy transfer (the propagation of the original sound wave).Īs the wave radiates from the centre of the waters surface as a surface wave, it encounters a boundary. When the vibration of a transducer (speaker) for example vibrates a circular dish of water, it is transforming into a type of transverse wave. So essentially we could say sound is a longitudinal pressure wave (waves in which the displacement of the medium is in the same direction as, or the opposite direction to, the direction of propagation of the wave), and propagates through a medium by a compression and rarefaction of molecules (molecules don’t radiate out with the wave, they stay in the average of the same position) There is the human perception of sound, but this varies depending on the organism or devices sensitivity to a spectrum of vibration.

She approached the subject of Chladni Figures with scientific rigor and her work represents a rich resource for students of this branch of acoustics, including some of the mathematical equations that describe the phenomena.

She became fascinated by Chladni's work and recreated all the forms he discovered, taking his work to a higher level.
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Waller became Professor of Physics at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School in London. The inspiration for the exploration into cymatics is steeped in “anthroposophy,” a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), which states that human beings can intellectually access and uncover elements of an existing spiritual plane. He is nicknamed the "father of cymatics," Between 1958 and his death in 1972, Jenny conducted a wide range of experiments documenting the effects of sound and energy on various media. A physician, fine artist, pianist, philosopher, historian, and empirical researcher. Hans Jenny studied visual sound intensively. These patterns are now known as 'Chladni Figures.' He used a sand-strewn brass plate, excited by a violin bow since brass is a highly resonant material he found that a large number of archetypal geometric patterns could be created, depending on where on the edge of the plate the bow was drawn. The multiple forms of universal geometry, symmetry and beauty that emerge through resonance in various mediums, allows us to ponder the nature of sound, vibration, form and many more questions.Įrnst Chladni (1756-1827) was a German musician and scientist, sometimes known as 'the father of acoustics,' almost certainly had access to Hooke's work but it is Chladni who history has chosen to acknowledge for his major study of this class of phenomena. In 'Cymatics: The Study of Wave Phenomena' he concluded, "This is not an unregulated chaos it is a dynamic but ordered pattern." The term was coined by Hans Jenny (1904-1972) a physician and natural scientist. The study of visible sound and vibration. Cymatics is the study of sound and vibration made visible, typically on the surface of a plate, diaphragm or membrane.įrom ancient Greek: κῦμα, meaning "wave", Cymatics is a subset of modal vibrational phenomena.
