The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation
Explore the playful side of invention and the inventive side of
play in Invention at Play, our interactive website. Curator
Steven Turner demonstrates vibration patterns on a Chladni plate
The Chladni plate, named after the early acoustic scientist
Ernst Chladni, who first studied the patterns, was used to study
acoustics in the late 18th and the 19th centuries.The pattern
seen here was formed when the plate was set vibrating by a
violin bow. The Chladni plate is part of a collection of science
teaching instruments donated to the Smithsonian's National
Museum of American History by retired science teacher Richard
Zitto.