Cymatics is the study of visible sound and vibration, typically on the surface of a plate, diaphragm, or membrane. Directly visualizing vibrations involves using sound to excite media often in the form of particles, pastes, and liquids. The apparatus employed can be simple, such as a Chladni Plate or advanced such as the CymaScope, a laboratory instrument that makes visible the inherent geometries within sound and music. Hans Jenny (1904-1972) is considered the father of cymatics. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Dec 18, 2009 - 8 comments

The Brine Pool, at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, is a salt pond more than 50 meters in length, whose water has such a high concentration of methane gas, that it supports surrounding mussel beds resembling a beach shoreline, around its entire perimeter. Called by some "one of the strangest places on earth", The Brine Pool also provides habitat for hag fish and other creatures who dive into and out of its salty water for cover and camoflage, as well as some weirdo worms that live on the strange frozen methane hydrates that can form in, or adjacent to such pools. In some photos, "waves" can be seen on the "surface" of The Brine Pool, as its heavy salt water remains distinct from the seawater of the Gulf above.
posted by paulsc on Sep 19, 2006 - 38 comments

The corruption of Everything -- For quite a while now I have been happily reading and enjoying the entries in Everything2 As Metafilter has seen a number of references to user contributed guides I thought it might be a good time to discuss a common phenomenon that seems to be now finding it's way into Everything... more in the thread ->
posted by soulhuntre on Sep 30, 2001 - 16 comments