Lissajous Figures

Two vibrations at once

An interactive lesson with 7 steps, about 6 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Lissajous figures: x and y vibrate at frequencies a and b.
• Touches on the top = b (vertical frequency), on a side = a; phase changes the shape.
• The figure closes only if a : b is a ratio of whole numbers.

Steps

1. Wobbling in two directions
2. A figure eight
3. From a line to a circle
4. Read the ratio
5. Tuning by eye
6. A figure that turns
7. Never closing