Dr. Hans Jenny (1904-1972) was a Swiss medical doctor and natural scientist. He pioneered the science of Cymatics with experiments he conducted over a 14 year period in which he would generate simple sine wave vibrations, pure tones within audible range, through a variety of powders, pastes and liquids. The images formed in these experiments resemble patterns found throughout nature, art and architecture. But Jenny felt that his work went beyond the physical sciences alone, illustrating principles which inspired the ancient Greek philosophers Heraclitus, Pythagoras and Plato, on down to Giordano Bruno and Johannes Kepler. The creative and organizing powers of sound are apparent in these images and give a whole new meaning to “In the beginning was the word.”

For more information on Dr. Hans Jenny’s book Cymatics, his facinating experiments and DVDs of his videos go to:

 http://cymaticsource.com/

   Jenny’s work was founded in part on experiments done 200 years earlier by German Physicist Hans Chladni (1756-1827). (See the two illustrations at right and below.) Chladni invented a technique for illustrating various modes of vibration in a mechanical surface. He would sprinkle a fine layer of sand over a metal plate, then draw a violin bow across the edge of the plate creating a resonance through the metal which would result in geometric patterns formed around the nodal regions. The experiments are more often performed nowadays by placing a loudspeaker driven by an electronic signal generator above or below the plate. This allows for more accuracy in setting frequencies. This technique is commonly employed in the design of acoustic instruments like violins, guitars and cellos.

Below; A large multi-dimensional resonance array Chladni plate installation at Harvard.

 http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~scidemos/OscillationsWaves/BigChladniPlate/BigChladniPlate.html