Cymatics 1

Cymatics
Cymatics (from Greek: κῦμα "wave") is the study of
visible sound and vibration, a subset of modal
phenomena. Typically the surface of a plate,
diaphragm, or membrane is vibrated, and regions of
maximum and minimum displacement are made visible
in a thin coating of particles, paste, or liquid.[1]
Different patterns emerge in the exitatory medium
depending on the geometry of the plate and the driving
frequency.
Resonance made visible with black seeds on a
The apparatus employed can be simple, such as a harpsichord soundboard
Chladni Plate[2] or advanced such as the CymaScope, a
laboratory instrument that makes visible the inherent
geometries within sound and music.

Etymology
The generic term for this field of science is the study of
modal phenomena, retitled Cymatics by Hans Jenny, a
Swiss medical doctor and a pioneer in this field. The
word Cymatics derives from the Greek 'kuma' meaning
'billow' or 'wave,' to describe the periodic effects that
sound and vibration has on matter.

History Amplified sine wave's effects on cornstarch & water solution

The study of the patterns produced by vibrating bodies

has a venerable history. One of the earliest to record that an oscillating body displayed regular patterns was Galileo
Galilei. In Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), he wrote:
As I was scraping a brass plate with a sharp iron chisel in order to remove some spots from it and was running
the chisel rather rapidly over it, I once or twice, during many strokes, heard the plate emit a rather strong and
clear whistling sound: on looking at the plate more carefully, I noticed a long row of fine streaks parallel and
equidistant from one another. Scraping with the chisel over and over again, I noticed that it was only when the
plate emitted this hissing noise that any marks were left upon it; when the scraping was not accompanied by
this sibilant note there was not the least trace of such marks.[3]
On July 8, 1680, Robert Hooke was able to see the nodal patterns associated with the modes of vibration of glass
plates. Hooke ran a bow along the edge of a glass plate covered with flour, and saw the nodal patterns emerge.[4] [5]
In 1787, Ernst Chladni repeated the work of Robert Hooke and published "Entdeckungen über die Theorie des
Klanges" ("Discoveries in the Theory of Sound"). In this book, Chladni describes the patterns seen by placing sand
on metal plates which are made to vibrate by stroking the edge of the plate with a bow.
Cymatics was explored by Hans Jenny in his 1967 book, Kymatik (translated Cymatics).[6] Inspired by systems
theory and the work of Ernst Chladni, Jenny began an investigation of periodic phenomena but especially the visual
display of sound. He used standing waves, piezoelectric amplifiers, and other methods and materials.
Cymatics 2

Influences in art
Hans Jenny's book influenced Alvin Lucier and, along with Chladni, helped lead to Lucier's composition Queen of
the South. Jenny's work was also followed up by Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) founder Gyorgy
Kepes at MIT.[7] His work in this area included an acoustically vibrated piece of sheet metal in which small holes
had been drilled in a grid. Small flames of gas burned through these holes and thermodynamic patterns were made
visible by this setup.
Based on work done in this field, photographer Alexander Lauterwasser captures imagery of water surfaces set into
motion by sound sources ranging from pure sine waves, to music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Karlheinz Stockhausen,
electroacoustic group Kymatik(who often record in surround sound ambisonics), and overtone singing.
Rosslyn Chapel's carvings are thought to contain references to Cymatics patterns and in 2005 composer Stuart
Mitchell and his father T.J.Mitchell created a work realised by the use of matching Cymatics/Chladni patterns to the
13 geometric symbols carved onto the faces of 213 cubes emanating from 14 arches. They have named the
completed work The Rosslyn Motet and has received a great deal of media publicity and acclaim from scientific and
musicological sources.

References
[1] Jenny, Hans (July 2001). Cymatics: A Study of Wave Phenomena & Vibration (3rd ed.). Macromedia Press. ISBN 1-8881-3807-6.
[2] "Instructional Research Lab: Chladni Plate" (http:/ / www. physics. ucla. edu/ demoweb/ demomanual/ acoustics/ effects_of_sound/
chladni_plate. html). University of California, Los Angeles. . Retrieved 3 September 2009.
[3] Good Vibrations (http:/ / www. americanscientist. org/ template/ AssetDetail/ assetid/ 15670;jsessionid=baa9. . . ?fulltext=true), Joyce
McLaughlin, American Scientist, July–August 1998, Volume: 86 Number: 4 Page: 342, DOI: 10.1511/1998.4.342
[4] Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni (http:/ / www. ilt. columbia. edu/ projects/ bluetelephone/ html/ chladni. html), Institute for Learning
Technologies (http:/ / www. ilt. columbia. edu/ about/ index. html), Columbia University
[5] Pg 101 Oxford Dictionary of Scientists- Oxford University Press- 1999
[6] Jenny, Hans (1967). Kymatik. ISBN 1-888138-07-6
[7] Gyorgy Kepes profile at MIT (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20021104072629/ http:/ / web. mit. edu/ cavs/ people/ kepes/ kepes. html)

External links
• Cymatics and Rosslyn Music 'Cubes' (http://www.tjmitchell.com)
• Global Cymatics Community (http://www.cymatics.co.uk)
• Cymatics, A Study of Wave Phenomena (http://www.cymaticsource.com)
• Cymatics Conference (http://www.cymaticsconference.com)
• Cymatica.net : Architectural thesis investigation into the synthesis of space and form generated from sound (http:/
/Cymatica.net)
• Cymatics.org: Cymatics images & video capturing the interaction of sounds with liquids (http://www.cymatics.
org)
• Video of Cymatics of salt grains on vibrating square metal plate (http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=s9GBf8y0lY0)
• DIY Cymatics (http://www.rmcybernetics.com/projects/DIY_Devices/homemade_cymatics_display.htm)
• TED Talks: Evan Grant: Making sound visible through cymatics (http://www.ted.com/talks/
evan_grant_cymatics.html)
Article Sources and Contributors 3

Article Sources and Contributors

Cymatics  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=410124180  Contributors: 2over0, BD2412, Binksternet, Bissinger, Braindeadstudent, CALR, Chatcolet11, CollinMel, Cosmikos,
Danny, Dmh, Doctormatt, Editsalot, Eep², Filll, Gaelanb, Gezi, Hughcharlesparker, Hyacinth, Incrediblub, Jack Kassewitz, Jasonjayr, Jayson97, Jogloran, Jokestress, JoyGardner, Karen elliott,
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Speakdolphin, Stuart7m, Susten.biz, The Anome, Viriditas, Whitepaw, WikiRigaou, Woohookitty, 49 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Image:Resonance Chladni Soundboard Harpsichord Clavecin.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Resonance_Chladni_Soundboard_Harpsichord_Clavecin.jpg
 License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:WikiRigaou
Image:CornstarchCymatics cc.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:CornstarchCymatics_cc.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:
User:CollinMel

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