Chladni Plate Simulator
Watch particles settle into nodal line patterns driven by sound vibrations.
Silent preview at the selected frequency — press Play to hear it, or use Mic / File.
Audio Source
Pattern Mode
Color Mode
Volume
70%How to use the Chladni plate simulator
A Chladni plate is a flat metal plate sprinkled with sand and vibrated by sound. The sand is shaken away from the parts of the plate that move and collects along the lines that stay still, called nodal lines. The result is a geometric figure that changes every time the frequency changes.
This simulator recreates that experiment in your browser. Thousands of particles are pushed away from areas of strong vibration and settle on the nodal lines of a mathematical wave pattern, so you can see what a sound "looks like" without a speaker, a plate or a bag of sand.
Quick start
- Open the Slider tab in the Audio Source panel and press Play to start a pure sine wave. 440 Hz (concert A) is a good first frequency.
- Drag the frequency slider or tap a preset. Low frequencies give a few large cells; higher frequencies give many small, detailed cells.
- Switch to the Mic tab to make patterns with your voice, an instrument or any sound in the room, or use the File tab to upload music and watch a song change the pattern over time.
- Try the different pattern modes and color themes, then use Export PNG or Record video to keep the figure you like. Share link copies a URL that reopens exactly this pattern.
Why does the pattern change with frequency?
Every plate has a set of natural vibration shapes called modes. Each mode is described by two whole numbers that count how many times the wave crosses the plate horizontally and vertically. When you raise the frequency, the simulator moves to higher mode numbers, which means more nodal lines and a finer, more intricate pattern.
On a real plate only certain frequencies produce a clean figure — the resonant frequencies. Between them the sand looks messy. That is why cymatics experiments usually sweep the frequency slowly and stop when a sharp pattern appears.
Pattern modes explained
Chladni uses the classic product-of-sines standing wave on a square plate. Polar and Spiral use circular coordinates, similar to a round plate or a drum head. Hexagonal and Star add rotational symmetry, Grid shows a simple lattice, Harmonic mixes several overtones, Voronoi creates cell-like regions, and Lissajous is based on the curves you get when two perpendicular vibrations combine.
Simulation versus a real experiment
CymaVis uses simplified mathematical wave functions rather than a full physical model of a metal plate, so the exact frequency at which a figure appears will not match a specific real plate. The behavior is the same, though: particles leave the moving areas, gather on nodal lines, and the figure becomes more complex as the frequency rises. It is designed for learning, teaching and creating visuals, not for engineering measurements.
Frequently asked questions
Is this cymatics simulator free?
Yes. CymaVis is free to use with no sign-up. It runs in any modern desktop or mobile browser.
Does the microphone mode record or upload my audio?
No. Audio is analyzed locally with the Web Audio API. Nothing is recorded or sent to a server.
What frequency makes the best cymatics pattern?
There is no single best frequency. Low tones around 100–300 Hz give bold, simple shapes, while 800 Hz and above give dense, detailed figures. Sweep the slider slowly and stop when you like what you see.
Can I use the patterns in my own videos or artwork?
Yes. Images you export with Export PNG and videos you make with Record video are yours to use in personal and commercial projects. A small cymavis.com watermark appears in the corner.
Why do nodal lines form where the sand collects?
Nodal lines are the places where the plate does not move. Sand on moving areas is bounced around until it lands somewhere still, so over time it all ends up on the nodal lines.