Visualising sounds using Chladni figures

How can vibrations be made visible? This is achieved by mechanically exciting a thin plate sprinkled with sand using a mechanically (or acoustically) coupled loudspeaker, which is driven by various frequencies from a function generator or even a keyboard. The sand then spreads across the plate towards the areas where there are no vibrations or where vibrations are weaker – in other words, the nodes. This creates characteristic patterns that can be interpreted both aesthetically and physically.

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