Cymatics - Voice Coil Chladni Plate Driver

[beeyalen]

going to attempt to do this with a using a plate of 1/8 inch thick cold rolled steel on top of a speaker cone. would it be possible to make it work without attaching the plate to the cone? I'm not sure otherwise how the plate could be attached to the cone, its different than a magnet.

[EdwinWiseOne]

@beeyalen It's possible to make it work with just audio coupling (e.g. placing the speaker under the sheet) but you have to make the audio very very loud! 1/8 inch steel is also very heavy and stiff, so your vibrations may be pretty small -- I used a much thinner material; less mass is easier to move. But experimentation is what it's all about, so good luck!

[beeyalen]

@EdwinWiseOne Thank you so much. I was wondering if you also could point me in the direction of somewhere where I can see some info on correctly attaching the speaker magnet to the voice coil. Also, how are you powering your speaker device?

[beeyalen]

@EdwinWiseOne I'm also not sure where to find a speaker magnet and a voice coil. Radio Shack does not carry it, and they said they do not know who would have them

[EdwinWiseOne]

@beeyalen If you can get your hands on Make Magazine issue 16 (or get it from their website) there are details. I used a signal generator, and if you search for the term "signal generator" you can probably find a software one as well. I got my speaker setup by getting a speaker, and then tearing it apart! Simple, if a bit wasteful. But old speakers can be found here and there.

[MrDesertstars]

@EdwinWiseOne I have been working on it! Found your tutorial in Make Magazine. I see you are using coated magnet wire. The only magnet wire I was able to find at the store is uncoated. Is this going to cause any hazards?

[EdwinWiseOne]

@MrDesertstars Yeah, it needs to be insulated - electricity takes the shortest path it can find, and given a choice, won't want to run through the entire coil but will just jump crosswise through it (or whatever). If it's truly not varnished... maybe a thin layer of spray paint?

[MrDesertstars]

@EdwinWiseOne It would also be helpful if you could provide some information on how to remove a speaker magnet

[ZolaDominique]

The swiveling base is a good idea.

[delphinny]

Hi, I would like to make one of these and was wondering if you could tell me where I can buy speaker magnets and if you can post some construction diagrams ? Thanks! There is verry limited info all around about these things.

[tranceemerson]

someone should do this experiment in space, so that the materials don't have to overcome gravity.

[EdwinWiseOne]

Go for it! The tighter coupled it is, the better. I built a plate INTO the speaker, made it the cone, and that was the best.

[nikkkaforum]

please, could anyone tell me if i should put a plate DIRECTLY on the speaker?

[McFuckNuggets]

@nikkkaforum Why not skip the speaker and plug it directly into the wall?

[renevideoboyhn]

hello

what program you use to generate sounds like this?

[EdwinWiseOne]

@renevideoboyhn I use a hardware signal generator and/or this program tonegen.

[im2cool4this]

i would like to make one of these devices myeslf, what size voice coil did you use? and how did you play such high test tones?

[zurudu]

hello if yo need more light maby this can help /watch?v=_zMAWztZ6TI

or this watch?v=eztcSWZpfJg /watch?v=eztcSWZpfJg bt maby yo now alredy

thans for yor info jst wat i need peace from belgim

[admandrsn1981]

With two sources of disturbance I think you'd just have two sources of frequency. So if one was playing at 300hrtz and the other at 500hrtz, assuming the frequencies are evenly sequenced, you'd just have a cymatic response of whatever shape is vibrating at 900hrtz. It doesn't even matter if one frequency is a sine wave and one a square, or if one is a small hammer hitting at even interval and the other is the recorded sound of the national anthem speed up to a blip of a second and then repeated

[IAMoraes]

Hi, Edwin. Great video!

Just checking with you: would you know if anyone has ever attempted that with ?v=OsW8zctD7CM ???? There would be two different sources of disturbance in such a system; once fine-tuned the combo sound/magnetism would let us see "stuff" happen in three dimensions.

Take care.

[gahjii]

he sounds like kipkay

[sophlivesformusiclol]

Looks like Jim Carrey and sounds like when he was that dude in A Series Of Unfortunate Events.. Yknow, the snake assistant? Has that nasal voice..

[furburger27]

what gauge aluminum are you using ?

[EdwinWiseOne]

@furburger27 I'm not sure anymore, but it's very thin... just able to hold its own shape. 20ga maybe?

[K0W0O0N0]

Nice setup!

THX for sharing...

[AngusT07171]

what happens with multiple frquencies

[EdwinWiseOne]

@AngusT07171 I suspect the vibration patterns would be too intricate or unstable; though I haven't tried mixing two pure tones. It could be interesting, and I'm curious what the beat frequency would do.

[velmathepelmar]

I'm fascinated with Cymatics and effect of sound & vibrations. Would you be able to show the visual effects of a mobile phone? seeing that they vibrate with pulsed radiowaves/microwaves. Thank you

[EdwinWiseOne]

@velmathepelmar This particular effect depends on the ability to physically vibrate the plate -- which can be done via sound, or if directly driven, sound is a side effect, since sound is simply the physical vibration of the air around us.

To see the vibration of a different energy form (e.g. electromagnetic energy), would require a way to couple that energy with physical particles.

[MiepGoat]

@velmathepelmar

You might be able to on the phone itself, although it would be a pretty small area to see. There have been plenty similar experiments where sand was placed on a violin or guitar and the instrument was played. The sand forms particular patterns based on the shape of the object that's vibrating and the frequency of the vibrations. You might want to google cymatics and guitars or violins if you're interested :)

[velmathepelmar]

I'm fascinated with Cymatics and effect of sound & vibrations. Would you be able to show the visual effects of a mobile phone? pulsed radiowaves/microwaves. Thank you

[spairpartsdealer]

the only annoying noise in this video is that "scientist's" voice

[DigitalPraise7]

@noahmendoza9 Or it could help you understand how God created the universe by the power of His voice.

[Skiddla1337]

@DigitalPraise7 what sounds created him then?

[mikevern69]

its obvious now that vibration or frequncy creates form.

[emcsnipez]

could this be used to make a sound TV with different colored powders

[EdwinWiseOne]

I'm pretty sure they would mix very quickly.

You can, however, take an old color TV and wire audtio to the deflection yoke...

[spairpartsdealer]

@EdwinWiseOne kool.

[ottertube]

As soon as the 'light supplier' comes back to town? Where you live man, Mayberry?

[sk8ingonfire]

i wonder if any one has ever made a bed out of this ? BUMPinNN!

[TajiKatoProductions]

im doing this for my science project but i do not know where to get that annoying high pitch sound.. help pls..

[EdwinWiseOne]

I used an external signal generator to create sine waves at various frequencies. If you google around, you can also find signal generator programs for your computer to create these pure tones. Failing that, a 555 timer, a capacitor, and a few resistors can act as a decent stand-in...

[EdwinWiseOne]

The _original_ Chladni experiments actually used a bow (like you would play a violin with) across the edge of the plate, to induce vibrations in it.

[theestever]

@TajiKatoProductions You could also dwnld a share/freeware audio editing app or simple tone generator - which are often easy to use - and create high pitched tones till you're house is surrounded by every dog within a five mile radius. :)

[Twentysixbillion]

Thankyou very much I find all this incredible!!! And you made a video explaining it thankyou, I will keep it in my favourites and hopefully one day I will do it.

[eyofirsttrumpet]

Water looks so much cooler, can you do it with water and light?

[EdwinWiseOne]

I've seen some good work with water, but I haven't been happy with my own experiments in water. It would, at least, require a different setup than the one here.

[avezzola]

Please, I have to do a Chladni's Plate, someone can explain me one easy way to build the plate??

[EdwinWiseOne]

The easiest way is to simply stretch plastic wrap across the top of a speaker.

[avezzola]

@EdwinWiseOne

i have to use the metal plate no matter what, what if i put the metal plate directly on the speaker? should it work? or do i need the metal stick in the centre of the speaker? thanks

[EdwinWiseOne]

In THAT case, you could try setting it on the speaker and cranking the volume way up. However, where the plate touches the speaker will dampen the pattern at those points.

Try maybe double-stick taping or epoxying a small cup or cardboard tube to the speaker (which will never be the same again) and then fastening the plate to that... whatever you do, add as little weight as possible or you'll never get the high frequencies to show.

[resonantdave]

What kind of sound source did you use or would you recommend? Are there any devices I can look for?

The swiveling base is a good idea.

[EdwinWiseOne]

Pretty much any audio amplifier will work, though larger amplifiers will of course drive larger plates.

The sound _source_, as in the signal generator; you can get software signal generators for your computer, which you can then tie to the amplifier via the headphone or speaker jack. You can also build a simple square-wave generator out of a 555 timer and a few components, or if you want to go fancy, buy a cheap signal generator off of eBay or an electronics store.

[alexdata]

How is your setup? Do you have it setup like this:

1.Metal Plate on top.

2.Coil under the metalplate.

3.Magnet under the coil

4. Plastic supporters under the magnet

And then a soundsource connected to the coil directly, thus making it jump on top of the magnet?!?! Would you be able to take a picture, make a film, on the setup itself?!?

[EdwinWiseOne]

I seem to recall answering this in e-mail, but should put up something here for the list too.

Plate has a voice coil attached with a nylon bolt. This is a coil of wire wrapped around a plastic cylinder (small cup with extension made of packing tape).

This coil fits INSIDE a speaker magnet, and vibrates inside the magnetic field as current is applied.

[TheRealVerbz]

Look at a picture of the asteroid belt in our solar system.

All the asteroids form a circle like a Chladni pattern not quite in harmonic alignment.

You can levitate light objects with acoustics on an x, y and z axis.

3 speakers at 600 hertz levitates a ping pong ball.

The ping pong ball starts to spin as its levitated.

Imagine Earth as a ping pong ball.

The rate of spin of the ping pong ball corresponds to the frequency that is levitating it.

What is 1038 miles an hour converted into hertz?

[TheRealVerbz]

If we can calculate the frequency the ping pong ball is being levitated by knowing the rate of spin, then we can calculate the frequency that is levitating Earth (Terra).

Perhaps Earth is called Terra because of the bandwidth that it generates.

If 3 speakers can levitate a ping pong ball and make it spin faster according to hertz frequency... then imagine the center of the Milky Way as a speaker on the x axis.

Imagine Andromeda as a speaker of the y axis.

and another galaxy on the z axis.

[TheRealVerbz]

What happens to a ping pong ball when it is in the focal point of 3 intersecting waves at 90 degree angles? It levitates and spins. What is Earth doing? It is levitating and spinning. 2012 marks a time where Earth will be passing through a focal point of 3 Galactic waves on an x, y and z axis. The Universe is moving up a frequency. What happens to a 2D Chladni pattern when it moves up a frequency? It changes configuration. What happens in a 3D realm? Spin faster. 40 hour days to 24 to 13.

[thego69]

im trying to find the sound of the yah's music scale, can anybody tell me where to find it...

a web or anything, please respond if anybody knosw

XD gracias!

[CrackBadger52]

Thats cool as fuck though. Wheres the sound coming from is it the magnet vibrating the metal plate or something?

[EdwinWiseOne]

The plate is, itself, just the "cone" of a custom-built speaker.

[CrackBadger52]

Could you not put a barrier around the edge so you don't have to keep adding salt and don't have a big mess to clean up after?

[EdwinWiseOne]

That would be great! What you need, though, is a flexible barrier (maybe spandex or latex sheet) to span a gap between the plate and the walls of a box.

Any rigid edge will mess up the vibration patterns.

[pocketspy]

Ed what are the best materials to use and what happens if you have two or more materials like metal fillings and sand

[EdwinWiseOne]

You want lightweight, non-sticky, non-humidity absorbing powders. Salt, for example, is great until it dissolves into the humidity (a problem in Texas). Graphite, flour, etc, tend to stick to the surface (so experiment with surface coatings?). Fine sand is good and stable, little seeds maybe, that kind of thing.

If you have two or more materials, they will separate based on their mass/size and accumulate in different areas on the plate. It's actually kind of neat.

[pocketspy]

Sorry to take so long to get back to you, but do you think you could a plate that could work like a sonic gold panning device. I thought that if you could find out how natural gold dust reacts to the point that it would congregate into the center, you could develop a way to separate the gold from the other elements. It may take awhile but I figure if you were along a river known for gold deposits, you could elctronically pan in the dry soil and get yourself some gold. What do you think?

[EdwinWiseOne]

It seems quite reasonable, since different particles react different to the vibration (at different frequencies).

[twistingincognito]

Is it absolutely necessary to use aluminum tape? The country I live in it is no where to be found.

[twistingincognito]

It is nowhere to be found in the country that I reside in *

[EdwinWiseOne]

I use it because it is sticky, stiff, and has the smooth face -- so it makes a new coil form! I would think you could find it _somewhere_ .. for taping ductwork, ventilation, stuff like that? A replacement could be plastic packing tape, just be careful about heat dissipation inside the coil.

[twistingincognito]

I really couldn't find it anywhere.

So I could use the same tape as the one that I used for the recoiling?

What about duct tape?

[EdwinWiseOne]

Which tape to use depends on where in the project, I guess -- duct tape is probably too heavy for most of it, and it's also thick and has a surface that won't really slide.

Plastic packing tape may be the best substitute, or any thin smooth tape.

Make the coil a few times and experiment? That's ultimately what I had to do making this -- also, tape isn't required, glues also might fill in some of these roles.

[ndtoknw]

great video.....

[KKinsane2009]

there is no perfect center you make it with two waves ;)

[ActiveStorage]

did u try some other medium? this one seems abit too "stiff"

[Bballjamal]

Have you attempted to tune it to specific freq as those talked about in The Sacred Geometry of Yah's Musical Scale: The Perfect Circle of Sound? They say at different freq's, 512hz for example, have healing effects and so on. Youtube the name mentioned above or atleast just type in 512hz and see what vid's pop up. Highly interested in playing with this but don't really know where to start.

[EdwinWiseOne]

Sound is nothing more than the oscillating motion of air molecules, translated by our ears into neural impulses. Sound, of course, can have physical effects (FEEL that subwoofer, oh yeah!) but this is still just vibration.

Vibrations have their biggest effect at the resonant frequency of the targeted object, and everything (size, material, temperature, etc) affects that resonance.

The patterns only come out when the frequency applied to the plate has an interesting relationship to that plate.

[ActiveStorage]

i guess he thought that some frequencies might have some interesting relationship to our bodies.

tho i dont believe sound can do anything but electromagnetic waves certainly can kill. and if they can kill then why not heal?

[8triagrammer]

Yes, I would like to see that too..

[AlchemicalAscendancy]

THAT'S 528HRZ DR. LEN HOROWITZ.

[IamSpartacusPR08]

i am trying to recreate this for a yearlong project, could i use a old pill bottle as the riser instead of the plastic cup? i tried condiment cups, but they were still to big

[EdwinWiseOne]

Almost anything lightweight and rigid should work. Weight acts against your ability to move quickly (e.g. high frequencies).

[UrsaMusic]

I'm trying to build a chandli plate right now for taking photos of colors suspended in different liquid and oil mediums... I have a few really strong rare earth magnets and a poorly wrapped 8 ohm coil... What kind of amplifier and sound setup are you using? Great video!

[EdwinWiseOne]

I'm using a Peavy 128w PA amplifier, alligator clips, and the custom coil in the magnet I salvaged from a cooked subwoofer. Details in Make Magazine ... umm.. something.

[0Frozen0Charlotte0]

Fucking cool

[5zerocool]

I had a flash vision during your video, in the future, we will use this method to amplify our brain frequencies to physically peer into the future. Think Minority Report the movie. Good luck.

[joelito101]

What is the hightest frequencyy that you've applied, have you ever gone beyond?

[EdwinWiseOne]

I don't remember off-hand, several kHz I believe, but not off the end of my audible range -- as the frequency gets higher, it becomes harder to get enough vibration in the plate to bounce the particles. For really high frequency work, a smaller, lighter plate and finer particles would work. Mostly, the pattern gets smaller and smaller as the frequency gets higher.

[joelito101]

that would be very interesting indeed.

[joelito101]

Does anyone else feel like we are looking into one of those fractal animations? that moves when the frequency is changed.

[Equalpower]

Interesting yes, but not so much when the plates is not nearly even and is attached in the middle. Lots of good ones of this

[TubeBoober]

I notice the higher the pitch, the more intricate the design...

Thanx 4 sharing!

[whatwouldmattdo]

That is amazing sleuthing.

Are you a detective?

[TubeBoober]

Lol...(whatwouldmattdo)

I KNOW you were bein a smart-azz (cuz I do it all the time, lol) except I don't insult ppl in their comments on YouTube, I do it to their face (ppl I actually know...)

...but this IS some pretty cool stuff, huh?

BTW, that was my VERY first time ever seeing this being demonstrated, so pardon my "uneducated" excitedness, lol!!

Smile and have a nice day!!

And AGAIN, EdwinWiseOne,

Thanx for sharing.

[johndillinger1932]

Tesla was using standing waves or torsion waves to tap into free energy not make patterns.

[Chriscom28]

I would love to see Jenni's image. What yantra would it be?

[deluxchixbone]

wow

Watch out john huchison

[AOZXRAY]

I would like it if you would broadcast a well done sounding of an AUM. Have you seen Jenni's image of that which is the same as the yantra, the symbol meditated upon for thousands of years by the yogis?

The AUM being sounded creates waves make multiple interlaced six pointed stars, merging heaven and earth.

[EdwinWiseOne]

If I had a good strong recording of the same, I could do this.

[AOZXRAY]

I will keep it in mind, to see if I can get you one.

[nightingale9]

edwin.......can you communicate with me

i teach music k to grade 7 and i want very much to do this experiments with the children....

can you please assist me in getting the proper tone generator for this and how to possibly set it up.

i will so appreciate hearing from you.

sincerely

gail hall

[Dhaerma]

where can we find jennis work?

[oliana0]

It's ALIVE!!

Also, my coworker said, colored cornstarch for the vibrating plates.