Harmonographics: Physics of an Artistic Novelty of the Victorian Era

Authors

  • Rachel Zimmerman London Central Secondary School, Grade 11

Abstract

When two pendulums swing at right angles to each other, the combination of their oscillations plotted on paper form intricate patterns called Lissajous figures. A device which makes these patterns is called a harmonograph because it records harmonic motion. I became interested in harmonographs after seeing samples of Lissajous figures and marvelling at their complexity and beauty. I wanted to know how such a simple machine could make such a wide variety of complex designs. I set out to learn about the physics and mathematics of simple harmonic motion which are reflected in the Lissajous figures.

Additional Files

Published

1991-04-01

How to Cite

1.
Zimmerman R. Harmonographics: Physics of an Artistic Novelty of the Victorian Era. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 1991 Apr. 1 [cited 2024 Aug. 27];19(2):31-. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/634

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 2 (1991)

Section

Technical Articles

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