Cymatics

Cymatics

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Cymatics

Cymatics is the study of wave phenomena. It is typically associated with the physical patterns produced through the interaction of sound waves in a medium.

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.

History of Cymatics
New Discoveries with Cymatics
Influences in art
See also
References
External links

History of Cymatics

The study of the patterns produced by vibrating bodies has a venerable history. One of the earliest to notice that an oscillating body displayed regular patterns was Galileo Galilei, who wrote in his 1632 book, "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems":

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.^[1]^[2]

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.

The term cymatics was coined by the Swiss scientist, Hans Jenny. It is derived from the Greek kyma (????) meaning "wave," and ta kymatika (?? ????????) meaning "matters pertaining to waves."

Cymatics was explored by Jenny in his 1967 book, Kymatik (translated Cymatics).^[3] 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.

New Discoveries with Cymatics

The discovery of a breakthrough technique that involves making dolphin and whale sounds visible in water, possibly mimicking the very mechanisms that nature evolved in the cetaceans' own sound-receiving apparatus, was announced in late 2008 using a newly developed instrument, the CymaScope. A team led by Jack Kassewitz in the USA and John Stuart Reid in the UK aim to build a lexicon of cetacean words, each word having a specific meaning and each forming a recognizable pattern, known as a CymaGlyph.

John Stuart Reid is an English acoustics engineer, scientist and inventor. He has studied the world of sound for over 30 years. He is the inventor of the CymaScope, an innovative instrument that makes visible sound?s once hidden structures, just as the microscope and the telescope have brought previously hidden realms into view.

Jack Kassewitz's goal is to establish full communication between humans and dolphins. Jack's research has propelled him to search out and obtain cutting-edge technology in order to record cetaceans (dolphins, whales and porpoises) in the broadest spectrum and highest definition possible and now make them visible with Cymatic images created by John Stuart Reid.

Influences in art

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. ^[4] 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.

In 2007 Thomas J. Mitchell and his son Stuart told the press they had decoded "frozen music" based on sculptures in Rosslyn Chapel, in part by using cymatics.^[5]