As organic matter formed deep in Earth's oceans, it's likely that as sound interacted with these compounds, cymatic forces provided the sonic scaffolding and organized life into microscopic and macroscopic structures.
Prep your scuba gear for a deep dive π€Ώ
Our underwater journey takes us 7,758 meters (25,453 feet) deep into the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
A series of hydrothermal vents runs along this mid-ocean ridge, where hydrocarbons - life's building blocks - are spontaneously formed due to the pressure and temperature.
In the paper "The Sound Generated by Mid Ocean Ridge Black Smoker Hydrothermal Vents" researchers recorded a wide dynamic range of sound emitting from two vents, Puffer and Sully.
It was determined the sound in the vents came from mass flux variations at the vent opening caused by pulsating flow, like a baffled piston.
The inconsistent flow within the internal walls of the vent's chimney cause the structure to vibrate and emit dipole acoustic radiation.
Another unstudied, but likely sonic source may come from volume changes driven by the mixing of hydrothermal fluid with seawater.
Each vent also has it's own acoustic signature created by it's morphological structure.
All of these factors affect amplitude and frequency.
The frequencies recorded fluctuated from Extremely Low Frequencies (3 - 30Hz) to the Lower-Mid range (400 - 500Hz) throughout the week-long study:
Elements created in the hydrothermal vents mixed with organic compounds (likely seeded from crashed comets), were possibly organized by the dynamic vibrations imprinted on the microscopic bubbles created by low frequencies emitting from the vents.
Put simply - Sound shaped life.
The wide dynamic range of frequencies and cymatic patterns may also explain the massive array of biodiversity surrounding these vents (250,000 species per cubic meter).
The recorded ambient levels recorded in the study carried up to 15 meters (50 feet).
A virus with icosahedron morphology and a lineage dating back 3.5 billion found in a Yellowstone National Park thermal pool not only bolsters the theory that sound shaped life, but also opens the possibility that the earliest life could have been viruses and not bacteria.
However, much remains to be studied.
In the Miller-Urey experiment in 1952, a glass orb was filled and sealed with methane, ammonia, hydrogen, and water and irradiated with sparks for a week to simulate the conditions that may have been present on Earth 3.5 billion years ago.
The result of their experiment was a chemical soup which contained over 20 amino acids.
It'd be interesting to see the Miller-Urey experiment replicated, but with the concoction also subjected to the same frequencies that were recorded coming from the vents.
Cymatic forces continue to shape the living world today.
"Complex molecular reactions in chemistry and biochemistry are processes involving trillions of inelastic atomic collisions, which are defined as sound."
The mechanisms of phyllotaxis create Faraday Wave patterns:
Using the CymaScope, we can begin to create a dictionary by imaging animal sounds in great detail.
This may allow us to communicate with animals in their own language in the future.
Elephant call (Left) Dolphin sound (Right)
One final remarkable example has allowed us to visualize what a dolphin mentally "sees" while using echolocation.
(Picture from the experiment of a dolphin echolocating a man across him him:)
When the recording was reproduced in the CymaScope, they were able to see an outline of the man within image that was produced across pure water.
A full explanation can be viewed here:
To prove this was no fluke, they tested it with a several ordinary objects - in this instance a flower pot.
They were able to flawlessly recreate the results:
Sound shapes and interacts with life on so many levels still yet unconsidered and unexplored.
It's exciting to live in a time where new doors have been opened that will allow us to come to a greater understanding of where we came from and how we fit into Earth.
(D.N.A.)
As a detour, if you are interested in learning how life likely forms on other planets, read this great thread from @GeoExile (and follow him).
Earth is a special place because it's allowed us to evolve beyond the life cycle that other planets follow.
"Wherever sound and matter interact, there is always a tendency toward structure and form, and this cymatic principle applies across all scales, even to the birth of the Universe."
A 𧡠on how sound and cymatics shape the cosmos:
Galaxies are not distributed randomly throughout the universe, but organized in clusters.
In the paper βThe Egg-Carton Universeβ, the researchers believed that super clusters and voids were arranged into octahedral structures:
Their observations proved this to be exactly the case:
The CymaScope is a laboratory instrument invented by acoustics engineer John Stuart Reid. It displays the inherent geometries within sound by imprinting the vibrations onto pure water.
A recording of a Barred Owl call viewed through the CymaScope:
The CymaScope.
On the left is an extremely precise analog oscillator, the small petri dish looking is called the "visualizing cell" is filled with pure water, and the piston above goes down to a voice coil motor.
Simply - This makes sound visible by imprinting it onto water.
Before delving into its applications, a brief summary of how sound looks:
Most imagine sound waves as 2D waves traveling through the air (left), but the actual form in space is a bubble of acoustic energy that pulsates in and out with the periodic motions of the source (right).
The vibe has shifted. A 𧡠on Cymatics - the study of visible effects of sound. Although this field has been mired in woo-woo, it's a real phenomenon that reveals the underlying order of reality and has profound implications.
The complex beauty of a woman singing diatonically:
In 1632, the great Galileo Galilei was the earliest to record that an oscillating body displays regular patterns.
As you can see from the video below, it's not hard to imagine the ancients discovering this long before him with their primitive tools:
These observable patterns can be seen everywhere: art, math, physics, astronomy, DNA sequencing, animals, flowers, snowflakes, religious calendars, particle collisions, etc.
These vibrations are the hidden forces that shape our reality and its contents.
I always thought technology that utilizes ultra-low frequencies between 3-10Hz would be used for something like collapsing bridges and buildings or making someone nauseous, but not controlling brainwaves.
When people who work in office buildings get IBS, often it's because they sit below/near a large air conditioning unit that's vibrating around 15-30Hz that's slowly, but powerfully shaking their room. This perpetual vibration disturbs the contents of their stomach, causing IBS.
Sometimes when bridges collapse, it's because the synchronization of people walking causes a feedback loop which builds into a ULF vibration. This can shatter it if it was not constructed and engineered properly.
The Wim Hof breathing method is a simple and powerful way to tap into the ancient part of our brains for: increased energy and willpower, reduced stress levels, and a stronger immune system regardless of your age or fitness level.
A 𧡠about it:
"Iceman" Wim has performed amazing feats that demonstrate the effectiveness of his method including: arctic swims, hiking Mount Everest half-naked, and fighting off an injection of E. coli.
He is a true viking with several world records in extreme athleticism.
The method consists of a combination of a few rounds hyperventilating with breath holds, followed up immediately with cold immersion. This will increase oxygen levels in your blood which will become more alkaline due to the carbon dioxide dropping.
"The move projector is an Apollonian straightshooter, demonstrating the link between aggression and art."
~C. Paglia
For $1600, you can set up a nice home theatre with: a projector, 5.1 sound system, screen, curtains, and acoustic panels. In this thread I'll share some ideas:
First - Why a projector instead of a TV?
Watching a TV is basically staring at a lightbulb and thus, bad for your vision.
Also, the scale of your projector on a 9 foot screen with surround sound is a much more impactful viewing experience.
For the projector, I suggest buying an older 1080p model. I prefer the look to 4K and they are much cheaper. I spent $500 on my Optoma HD29HST and am happy with it. There are $250 models that look great as well.