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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Cymatics: the study of sound forming patterns

I became fascinated by cymatics when I found some books that showed how sound can organize matter into patterns. Since ancient times, sound has been used to stimulate healing in body, mind and soul. Pythagoras, the sixth-century B.C. Greek philosopher, is credited with being the first to use music to heal the body and the emotions. The eighteenth-century German scientist and musician Ernst Chladni, known as the father of acoustics, showed that sound does affect matter. When he drew a violin bow around the edge of a plate covered with fine sand, the sand formed intricate geometric patterns.

These patterns resemble what is seen in our world: the rings of a tree, the patterns on a turtles back, the shape of a starfish, and much more. This is intriguing, this relationship between the world of sound of vibration, and the form it imprints as it organizes matter.

Here's a link to an article I wrote when I saw similarities between my own art and sound patterns: http://www.holistichealingnews.com/?p=8475
And a website of a friend in the UK: www.cymascope.com

Hope you enjoy pondering this connection.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Deb. It is fascinating to read about vibrations of sound made visible.

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