On the popular TV show “Heroes,” the character called Emma Coolidge is portrayed as being able to “see sound” as her “superpower.”

The theory has ties to cymatics in that sound is represented as sound waves being viewed as visual patterns – but how much the authors of the show understand about cymatics is unclear. Take a look at the photos of Emma from Heroes “seeing sound,” then take a look at the picture of the cymatics sound bubble around a woman playing a violin here. Did they get it right? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

See more photos of how Emma Coolidge “sees sound” on Heroes, on the Heroes Wiki page…and, if you want, you can even add a “theory” about Emma and cymatics to the “Theories” part of the Heros Wiki. Be sure to leave a link to http://www.cymatica.com when you do (so they can see what you are talking about).

Here are 10 of the top most interesting facts about cymatics, this rapidly growing but still “underground” field of study spanning art, science and medicine…

1. Cymatics turns sound into a visible pattern that is often geometric in nature.

2. Cymatics may be the “clue” that proves sound is not a wave but a bubble.

3. Cymatics is used to help the hearing impaired learn to speak clearly. In fact a deaf student at the University of Edinburgh used cymatics to create a sound-based art show at his graduation.

4. Cymatic symbols may have been imbedded inside a chapel in Scotland in order to “encode” music secretly in the carved stone cubes lining the ceiling of the chapel.

5. Cymatics actually shows the stillness within sound, when applied to metal or membranes; however when applied to water cymatics reveals visuals of the sound itself.

6. Cymatics is currently being used by reseracher John Stuart Reid to record and decode the language of dolphins, including creating a “dolphin alphabet.”

7. Cymatics plates were played with a violin bow for astonished victorian audiences by Ernst Chaldini, the “father of acoustics,” in the 1700’s. (The same technique was used to create the plates in the photo above in 2009).

8. Cymatics can make matter actually “defy gravity” – for example, if you tip a plate sideways with liquid or particles on it, the matter will fall downward; but if sound is applied to the plate, the liquid will climb back up the plate to keep it’s cymatic form in defiance of gravity.

9. Cymatics has been quietly used by violin makers for years to help build better violins: by watching the shape of particles inside the violin they can perfect their carving of the body

And last but not least…

10. Cymatics can be used to see the geometric patterns of your voice at home using table salt and a simple device made out of 3 things you can get at the hardware store. You can get free instructions for how to make this device here.

P.S. Do you know about a “cymatic fact” (or maybe just a rumor worth investigating) that wasn’t listed above? Please let me know about it in the “comments” below, and I may include it in a future article!

–Jodina

sound bubble and violin (image: John Stuart Reid)

In his article, The Physics of Sound, Reid says that sound has previously been thought to travel as a wave because of the graphical, wave-based representation we have used to capture sound visibly in the past…

“The graphical representation of sound ‘waves’ in the past is why the term ’sound waves’ is used, causing the false impression that sound travels as a wave.”

…but that cymatics allows us to realize that the true form of sound is actually spherical, or bubble-like, in nature:

“Sound in air is the transfer of periodic movements between adjacent colliding atoms or molecules. This sonic energy typically expands away from the site of the collisions as a spherical or bubble-shaped emanation.”

In this fascinating article he also discusses the nature of light, and why his studies in cymatics have led him to believe that in certain cases, sound could actually “create visible light.”

To read more about John Stuart Reid’s studies in cymatics, sound bubbles and the connection between sound and light, go here.

To start conducting your own cymatics experiments using 3 common household items, download your free video instructions here.

My friend Rebekah recently mentioned that she was watching a violin maker use cymatics during the crafting of violins. I looked into this and discovered in Alexander Lautervasser’s book Water Sound Images a photo of violin backs with cymatic patterns in the particles sitting in them.

Apparently it is a long tradition among violin makers to look at the cymatic patterns created inside or on the violin while it is being made to help them perfect the violin’s build. I don’t know if this is the case with guitars or other similar instrument, but I would not be surprised. I also was not able to discover exactly how they use the cymatics, or what material is used to create the patterns.

Do you know anything further about this practice? If so, leave a comment! Thanks…