Hello,

I hope you could help me, please :) I'm a science fiction author and I want to use Chladni figures as a plot device for my next book :) The book is set on an alien planet. My question is, do you think the planet's gravity or other properties which are different from the Earth (atmosphere, etc) would affect the figures' appearance? From what I remember from my science books, they shouldn't,but still... What do you think?

Thank you very much!

Chladni figures = energy + frequency + vibration

Gravity and atmosphere should not be issues, complications.

That's exactly what I thought! Thank you very much!

Send me your book when it's published.

Since this is science fiction we can consider some pretty extreme environments. I agree that gravity should not have an effect on Chladni figures, but atmospheric pressure and temperature could. I think if the atmosphere is dense enough it would alter the natural frequency of vibration. In order to vibrate the plate has to move air molecles out of the way, and if the "air" is a lot denser than on Earth this would cause a damping effect that would lower the resonant frequencies at which the figures occur. Temperature can also have an effect as it influences the mechanical characteristics of the plate material. In hot environments you can expect the resonant frequency to become lower as the spring characteristic of the metal becomes a smaller value. I don't think either of these effects would alter the shape of the Chladni figures - just the frequencies at which they occur.

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Send me your book when it's published.

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Wondergirl,

Absolutely!

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Originally Posted by ebaines

Since this is science fiction we can consider some pretty extreme environments. I agree that gravity should not have an effect on Chladni figures, but atmospheric pressure and temperature could. I think if the atmosphere is dense enough it would alter the natural frequency of vibration. In order to vibrate the plate has to move air molecles out of the way, and if the "air" is a lot denser than on Earth this would cause a damping effect that would lower the resonant frequencies at which the figures occur. Temperature can also have an effect as it influences the mechanical characteristics of the plate material. In hot environments you can expect the resonant frequency to become lower as the spring characteristic of the metal becomes a smaller value. I don't think either of these effects would alter the shape of the Chladni figures - just the frequencies at which they occur.

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ebaines,

Thank you very much! Yes, this is exactly what I had in mind: air density, gravity and such. Thanks a lot for explaining it in such a clear and precise manner!

You guys rock!

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Originally Posted by ebaines

I don't think either of these effects would alter the shape of the Chladni figures - just the frequencies at which they occur.

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That could be an interesting arc in the story.

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

That could be an interesting arc in the story.

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Oh yes you're right! So if the conditions on the planet are either extremely hot or extremely cold, it could affect the frequencies - in other word, you'll need a different frequency to produce the same figure. It definitely could serve as a source of confusion for my characters :)