The Science of Cymatics
CYMATICS:
[from Ancient Greek: κῦμα, romanized: kyma, lit. 'wave') is a subset of modal vibrational phenomena. The term was coined by Hans Jenny (1904-1972), a Swiss follower of the philosophical school known as anthroposophy.
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 excitatory medium depending on the geometry of the plate and the driving frequency.]
-Wikipedia Exert
Cymatics is sound made visible
The science of cymatics gives us a way to 'see' sound waves as they travel through a physical medium. A geometric pattern forms which is comprised of areas which are either vibrating or still at 'nodes'. Below is one of the most beautiful videos ever made about the science of cymatics.
CYMATICS & The SOnosphere
In the case of the Sonosphere, the vibrating medium is a suspended platform- a huge acrylic circle of thick material, upon which a person can sit, lay down, and stretch out. A person's body becomes part of the medium that is vibrating. After about 45 minutes on the Sonosphere, many report a feeling of their body becoming 'liquid', 'jelly-like' or 'floating'.
The Chladni plate is a classic physics demonstration of resonance patterns in a thin metal plate. The Chladni plate is also a prime example of the science of cymatics. The thin metal plate is attached to a vibrating speaker cone and then sprinkled with a large amount of salt. The speaker is played with pure tones of sound. At certain frequencies, the salt will arrange itself into organized geometrical patterns, becoming aligned with areas on the plate that are nodes of stillness. The salt will not stay on any area that is vibrating- these are the antinodes.
The complexity of the patterns of nodes and anti nodes in the standing waves of resonating plates yields more complexity when higher frequencies are used to excite the medium. Many different mediums have been used for Chladni experiments including using gels and non-newtonian fluids in place of the salt, or using a different set up with lighted bowls of water excited by sound and photographed from above. There is a 'special frequency', unique to each medium, when a state of resonance is reached within 'the system' an equilibrium state will be achieved where standing waves are set up to move back forth across the mass/medium in harmonious ways.