<p>I have been doing some experiments with cymatic patterns in liquid using bass frequencies. I'm finding that the patterns appear on the top surface of a liquid, such that a pattern can only be displayed vertically, viewing it from the top down.</p>
<p>Is there any medium that could be used to display a cymatics pattern horizontally?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-05T19:05:23.613Z
The biggest obstacle here is gravity, I guess. Is recording video from the top and streaming the output to a monitor an option?
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-06T06:37:48.030Z
(@Joachim) or a mirror, or reflecting a spotlight off the surface onto a white wall (a different effect, but one I believe could be quite good)
Chris H
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-06T06:44:55.140Z
Using liquid or powder, you really need gravity working to settle the medium. It might just about be possible to use a magnet and iron filings or ferrofluid to allow a vertical mounting, but gravity is still there and working against you to deform the pattern. You'd also need an extremely even magnetic field to avoid just visualising the field lines, which is hard. I can't see it working very well
Chris H
<material-selection>
Medium for Horizontal Display of Cymatics Patterns
Emmett Palaima
# Medium for Horizontal Display of Cymatics Patterns

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-10-05)

I have been doing some experiments with cymatic patterns in liquid using bass frequencies. I'm finding that the patterns appear on the top surface of a liquid, such that a pattern can only be displayed vertically, viewing it from the top down.

Is there any medium that could be used to display a cymatics pattern horizontally?

**Tags:** material-selection

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The biggest obstacle here is gravity, I guess. Is recording video from the top and streaming the output to a monitor an option?  
> **username_2**: (@username_1) or a mirror, or reflecting a spotlight off the surface onto a white wall (a different effect, but one I believe could be quite good)  
> **username_2**: Using liquid or powder, you really need gravity working to settle the medium. It might just about be possible to use a magnet and iron filings or ferrofluid to allow a vertical mounting, but gravity is still there and working against you to deform the pattern. You'd also need an extremely even magnetic field to avoid just visualising the field lines, which is hard. I can't see it working very well  

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## 0 answers

