cymatics

[prettygoodword]

Wouldn't you know it? My queue of words to post about has another 5 that all start with C, just not as fancy as the theme week two weeks ago. Still, that's sufficient excuse for another theme -- more Cs:


cymatics (sai-MA-tiks) - n., the study of visible effects of sound and vibration.


I'll outsource the description to Wikipedia: "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. Different patterns emerge in the excitatory medium depending on the geometry of the plate and the driving frequency." So dust on a metal plate or musical instrument lets you see the modal vibrations.


Thanks, WikiMedia!

Cool stuff. Coined in 1967 by Swiss physician Hans Jenny from Ancient Greek kyma, wave.

---L.

Comments

[lokifan]

The cymatics instrument (?) looks incredible. *steals it for a magician character at some point*

[prettygoodword]

There’s more where I found it. Fun stuff.