Home▸Physics & Mechanics▸Chladni Plate Cymatics

Chladni Plate Cymatics (2D)

A top-down 2D companion to the 3D Chladni plate: drive a vibrating plate at a chosen mode and frequency and watch sand settle live along its nodal lines.

Physics & Mechanics2DEasy60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This top-down companion renders the same Chladni-figure mathematics as the 3D plate simulation, viewed flat from above. A vibrating square plate driven at a chosen mode (n, m) and frequency has a standing-wave displacement field with fixed nodal lines where the surface barely moves; thousands of sand grains drift down the local vibration gradient and jitter proportionally to nearby amplitude, so over a few seconds they collect into the classic Chladni figure along those nodes. Mode numbers, drive frequency, vibration energy and settling speed all carry over as live controls, matching the 3D scene's parameter set.

⚙ Under the hood

A top-down 2D view of a vibrating Chladni plate where sand grains drift along the standing-wave gradient of a chosen mode and settle live into the classic nodal-line figure.

chladni figurescymaticsstanding wavesnodal linesvibration modessand pattern

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install