Chladni Figures in Space

Hello, And thank you very much for your great site! 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!!!
- Irene (age 28)
St Petersburg

Thanks for the kind words!

For our other readers, Chladni figures are the patterns of vibration on surfaces, especially of musical instruments. They can be seen in different patterns made by powders (such as flour) on the surface when different notes are played. (See .)

I don't think that the Chladni figures would change much on a different planet. If the temperature were much different the mechanical properties would change, so the frequencies of vibration would be different. The Chladni patterns, however, show the spatial form of the vibrations and those should not change much since they are set mostly by the geometry of the surface.

Mike W.

posted without checking by Lee until he returns from Paris.

(published on 10/15/2013)