6 ms·
Pendulum Waves (2010)
- aethr 8y agoWithout analyzing it too much this seems to be a perfect visualization of the mathematics of music theory. The lengths of string become quite a direct metaphor for the wavelengths of notes on the music scale, and seeing them move together in progressively different "groups" of notes I imagine closely matches traditional chord structures in different keys. Quite mesmerizing, and mathematically satisfying at the same time!
- avip 8y agoFor this analogy to hold you'd need the 8th ball thread x4 longer than the first, which is very far from the actual ratios used.
- mrob 8y agoIt's a closer analogy to the "beat frequencies" you get with constructive and destructive interference of waves of similar frequency. The envelope of the total amplitude of the pendulums oscillates with lower frequency than the amplitude of any individual pendulum. I used Audacity to mix sine waves of the frequencies of the pendulums (51/60Hz, 52/60Hz, ..., 65/60Hz), multiplied by 440 to get them to audio frequency, and it sounds a lot like the UFO sound effect from the 1970s TV series "UFO".
- jkqwzsoo 8y agoLess the notes and scales themselves, and more polyrhythms and phasing. This reminded me of Steve Reich's Clapping Music, and similar phasing-heavy works (Piano Phase, Drumming, Music for Pieces of Wood, 6 Pianos/Marimbas, and Pendulum Music).
- agumonkey 8y agojazz is variable actuators/pendulums
- madelinw 8y agoI recreated this in CSS/JS a few years ago, inspired by this video. https://codepen.io/madelinw/details/ocnCl https://codepen.io/madelinw/details/ocnCl
- abecedarius 8y agoSame principle, though not a physical simulation: http://wry.me/hacking/moire-eel.html http://wry.me/hacking/moire-eel.html By moving the mouse you can amuse yourself with various Moiré effects.
- ubershmekel 8y agoI made it with webgl: http://toplessproductions.com/pendulum/ http://toplessproductions.com/pendulum/
- murkle 8y ago2D View from above (in GeoGebra) https://www.geogebra.org/m/yCe42MAX https://www.geogebra.org/m/yCe42MAX
- ms013 8y agoInteresting to see this come up again. Here’s a small model for this system written in Haskell from a few years back: http://syntacticsalt.com/blog/2011-08-27-harmonic-motion.html http://syntacticsalt.com/blog/2011-08-27-harmonic-motion.htm...
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- aardvark291 8y agoIf you enjoy demos like this and live in or visit San Francisco, check out the Exploratorium, which is full of amazing physical demos like this. https://www.exploratorium.edu/ https://www.exploratorium.edu/
- kaycebasques 8y agoThey have “adult swim” on Thursday nights. I.e. adults only, and alcohol for sale. Classic first date spot. But to really make the most of it you’ve got to go by yourself and spend a day there, taking the time to appreciate and think about each exhibit. I have fond memories of field trips to the Exploratorium back when it was at the Palace of Fine Arts.
- todd8 8y agoI’ve seen this demonstration at least a couple of times, once as an undergrad around 1971. I always remembered it and a few years later I was working with a minicomputer with limited I/O so I decided to blink the row of front panel lights just to show that the program was running. I blinked each on and off with a slightly different frequency and got a similar, interesting effect.
- inutard 8y agoGreat to see this come up again! Here's a simulator I wrote for it a looooong (almost 8 years!) ago: https://cs.stanford.edu/people/paulliu/webapps/pendulum.html https://cs.stanford.edu/people/paulliu/webapps/pendulum.html
- dest 8y agoNow what happens when you couple the oscillators?
- kaffeemitsahne 8y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v5eBf2KwF8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v5eBf2KwF8 Something like this?
- dest 8y agoyes, but I am looking for coupling between oscillators of different fundamental frequencies.
- kaycebasques 8y agoIt seems like the pendulums fall into a few repeating patterns. E.g. for a second it looks like a snake, for another second it looks like a double helix, and so on. The whole set cycles through each pattern and then begins again. How many patterns are there?
- the_cat_kittles 8y agoit looks like rotating helixes to my eye