240 million years ago, pressure waves emanated from a black hole inside the Perseus Galaxy Cluster. Much later, NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory intercepted those waves. Scientists raised the frequency of the signal until it fell within the range of human hearing. And then photographer John White played that sound through a petri dish of water sitting on a speaker. The result is above: a watery glimpse of a long ago black hole’s signature. Within these Faraday waves is the echo of a stellar phenomenon that took place when the very first dinosaurs walked our planet. (Image credit: J. White; via the 2023 Astronomy POTY)
Tag: cymatics
Recreating the Rings of Power Opening
Everyone loves a good title sequence, especially when they feature neat visuals. Many who watched “The Rings of Power” zeroed in immediately on their use of cymatics — visuals born from the vibrations of sound. In the video above, Steve Mould delves into the physics behind cymatics and recreates patterns similar to those in the show’s opening, which was a mixture of CGI and live action.
For Tolkien fans, the opening sequence holds additional layers of meaning; in Tolkien’s mythology, the universe is born from song, and many of the patterns shown in the opening — the two trees, Fëanor’s star, and the Silmarils themselves — are drawn directly from Tolkien’s myths. In a way, the opening sequence tells the story of the creation of Arda and the rise of Sauron’s predecessor, Melkor/Morgoth, and all the events that led to the show itself. It’s incredibly cool, both from a physics perspective and a literary one. (Image and video credit: S. Mould)
“Cymatics”
Nigel Stanford’s new “Cymatics” music video is full of stunning science-inspired visuals. The entire video is set up around various science demos–many of which will be familiar to readers–that translate sound or vibration into visual elements. The video uses ferrofluids, vibrates vodka on a speaker to create Faraday waves, and visualizes resonant sound waves with a Rubens’ tube. I don’t want to give away all the awesome effects, so watch it for yourself, and then check out their behind-the-scenes page where they talk about how they created each effect. (Video credit: N. Stanford; submitted by buckitdrop)
Also, today is the final day of voting for the Vizzies, an NSF-sponsored contest for the best science and engineering visuals. Head over to their website to check out the finalists and choose your favorites!
“Cymatic Sun”
“Cymatic Sun” from artist Lachlan Turczan uses vibrating fluids to generate mesmerizing and surreal visuals. At some points distinct Faraday waves are visible on the surface. At other times, there is simply a blur of motion and refracted light. Check out my “fluids as art” tag for many more great examples of fluid dynamics and art merging. (Video credit and submission: L. Turczan)
