Cymatics

サイマティクス / 1787– / Technique / Diagrammatic Expression

The experiment of seeing sound as a pattern in matter, beginning with the Chladni figures that sand draws on a vibrating plate. Each frequency brings out its own geometry, which makes this the oldest device for witnessing how sound and form correspond.

Cymatics — Pattern on a Chladni plate (CC BY-SA 4.0) · © Exhibit made by Estes Objethos Atelier, photo by Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton — Pattern on a Chladni plate (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Exhibit made by Estes Objethos Atelier, photo by Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton

Cymatics — Chladni figures at another frequency — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Exhibit made by Estes Objethos Atelier, photo by Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton — Chladni figures at another frequency — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Exhibit made by Estes Objethos Atelier, photo by Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton

Cymatics — クラドニ図形（高次モード）— Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Exhibit made by Estes Objethos Atelier, photo by Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton — クラドニ図形（高次モード）— Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Exhibit made by Estes Objethos Atelier, photo by Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton

At a glance

Visual cues

Chladni figures
Standing waves in sand and powder
A pattern for every frequency
The directness of the apparatus

Best used for

Building an exhibit of sound where the apparatus is part of the show
Letting people grasp the link between frequency and form by experience

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Dictionary entry

Type: Fine dry powder, spread as a single thin layer on the plate
Composition: Center the clamped point, view from where symmetry appears
Material: An even metal plate or membrane, raking light to raise pattern
Caution: Sweeping the frequency for a good looking video never lets a figure settle, and the central claim about sound and form fails to land.
Further study: Chladni's experiments of 1787 / Hans Jenny's coinage / contemporary sound-visualization artists

Related entries

Spectrogram (スペクトログラム)Same Diagrammatic Expression lineage.Compare Cymatics and Spectrogram
Generative Art (ジェネラティブアート)Shared effects: Technique / Calm.Compare Cymatics and Generative Art

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