A Research Program of the Ic² Research Institute
3D Acoustic Field Visualization in Microgravity
📊 Experimental Physics
📄 Preprint Available
🔬 Preliminary Methodology
🌐 Open Science
Plates show how a surface vibrates. How a whole volume organizes particles has rarely been seen.
Ernst Chladni discovered in 1787 that sand sprinkled on a vibrating plate organizes into patterns at resonant frequencies. These patterns, now called Chladni figures, have been studied, cataloged, and reproduced for over two centuries. They are among the most reproduced experiments in acoustics.
What they show is the vibration of the plate itself. The sand leaves the parts of the plate that move and gathers along the nodal lines, where the surface stays still. The patterns are an accurate map of how the plate resonates.
They do not show the sound field in the volume around the plate. That field is three-dimensional, and under gravity a particle medium settles onto surfaces instead of following it. Seeing the full field, rather than a map of a vibrating surface, is what this experiment addresses.
In microgravity, the particle medium is no longer constrained to a surface. Particles respond exclusively to acoustic radiation pressure, the force exerted by the sound field itself. They move through the whole volume of the chamber and gather where the radiation force balances: on spherical shells, and in clusters that share the symmetry of the transducer array.
The result is a direct view of how a resonating volume organizes particles in three dimensions. Not a map of a vibrating surface, and not only a calculation: the structure itself, to set against the calculation.
This is a pure physics experiment. It requires no theoretical framework, no controversial assumptions, and no departure from established acoustics. The predictions follow directly from standard acoustic physics and were checked against a numerical model of the chamber. The gap it fills is observational, not theoretical.
Predictions derived from standard acoustic field theory, independent of any broader theoretical framework
The three-dimensional node structures of acoustic fields include geometries that a flat plate simply cannot express. These are not refinements of known Chladni patterns. They are qualitatively different structures that have been invisible because a flat plate cannot show them.
If the predicted geometries are observed, the result gives a direct picture of standing wave structures that until now have been known mainly through calculation. It adds to plate cymatics rather than reinterpreting it: Chladni figures show how a surface vibrates, and this experiment shows how a volume resonates.
Beyond cymatics, the result has implications for acoustic levitation, acoustic trapping, and the engineering of three-dimensional sound fields. The complete node geometry is the design space for all of these applications. Today it is mostly calculated. This experiment makes it directly observable and checkable against theory.
This experiment stands entirely on acoustic physics. The COSMIC Framework’s interpretation of what these results would mean is logged separately in the prediction log above. The experiment itself is designed and will be evaluated on physics merits alone. Confirmation or disconfirmation of framework predictions does not affect the validity of the acoustic physics results.
View this experiment on the Testing ScheduleThree phases from immediate ground-based prototype through orbital platform
Methodology note: The experimental approach described here is preliminary. The core hypothesis is sound and the physics is well established, but the specific instrumentation, particle medium, and transducer configuration are under review. Improvements to the methodology are actively sought. If you have relevant expertise in acoustic levitation, microgravity payload design, or particle visualization, contributions to refining this approach are welcome before Phase 1 begins.
A transparent sphere with a tetrahedral transducer array and a particle medium, designed to test the visualization approach and establish baseline measurements under gravity. This phase validates the instrumentation and identifies any design issues before committing to microgravity testing.
Under gravity most particle media settle, which confirms the setup is working. Polystyrene beads in salt water matched to their density have no net weight, however, so they follow the acoustic force on the ground and let Phase 1 test the shell predictions before any flight.
Under $1,000: begins immediatelyParabolic flight via Zero-G Corporation or equivalent provider delivers approximately 22 seconds of true microgravity per arc. A session of 30 to 35 arcs covers each predicted pattern: one, two and three shells, the four, twelve and twenty-four cluster patterns, and a two-frequency test.
Each arc is locked to a resonance measured in the chamber, between about 400 Hz and 4 kHz for a 30 to 50 cm air-filled sphere, at a pressure amplitude of at least 3 kPa so that particles reorganize within the arc. Video capture and particle tracking software record the three-dimensional distributions for analysis.
Estimated $50,000 to $150,000An extended microgravity environment, via ISS or a commercial orbital platform, allows the complete systematic study of acoustic field geometry across the full frequency range. Phase 2 provides proof of concept and identifies the most scientifically productive frequency ranges to study in depth.
Phase 3 produces the comprehensive dataset that fully characterizes the three-dimensional structure of acoustic standing wave fields across frequencies and multi-frequency combinations.
Cost: subject to Phase 2 resultsWhy this gap has persisted and what fills it
Chladni figures are accurate maps of how a flat plate vibrates: the sand gathers on the lines where the plate does not move. They were never a picture of the sound field in the air around the plate. That field is three-dimensional, and a particle medium under gravity cannot hold its shape. Seeing it whole needs an environment where particles are free to follow the field in every direction.
Acoustic levitation, which suspends small objects at the nodal points of acoustic fields, already demonstrates that three-dimensional acoustic structures exist and are physically accessible. Objects levitated at nodal points are occupying positions in a three-dimensional field. This is established technology. The visualization of the complete nodal surface, rather than just the trapping points, is the missing step.
Complete knowledge of three-dimensional acoustic field geometry has direct applications in acoustic trapping, acoustic manufacturing, and the design of ultrasonic transducer arrays. Currently these applications rely on calculated field geometries. Observing the calculated structures directly, in a medium free of gravity, would test that theory in a way that has rarely been possible.
All experimental protocols will be pre-registered before data collection. All raw data will be made publicly available. Analysis code will be published under MIT license. Null results will be published with full completeness. The experiment will be evaluated on acoustic physics merits. Framework-related predictions are logged separately and evaluated independently.
Preprint available. Written as a standalone physics paper with no reference to NBI or any broader theoretical framework.
Eliminating Gravitational Bias from Cymatic Pattern Formation. A standalone physics paper presenting the core argument, theoretical predictions from standard acoustic physics, preliminary equipment specifications, and the phased approach from ground-based prototype through orbital platform. Version 1.1 (September 2026) corrects the predictions, frequency band and particle media of version 1.0. Methodology is described as preliminary and open to improvement.
This prediction is logged independently of the physics experiment. The experiment will be evaluated on acoustic physics merits alone. It represents the COSMIC Framework’s interpretation of what the physics results would mean for the NBI hypothesis if confirmed. Confirmation or disconfirmation of this prediction does not affect the validity of the acoustic physics findings.
Retired September 2026: an earlier prediction (CYM-003) that these patterns would match crop formation geometry. It rested on reading Chladni figures as cross-sections of a three-dimensional field, which they are not.
Prediction confidence: High | Physical basis: Acoustic field theory, nodal surface geometry | Testing Schedule
The experiment is in the preprint and methodology review stage. The physics predictions are documented in preprint version 1.1 and checked against a numerical model of the chamber. Phase 1 ground-based prototype work can begin immediately at low cost. The methodology for Phase 1 is preliminary and the transducer configuration and particle medium are open to revision before prototyping begins.
All experimental predictions for Phases 2 and 3 will be pre-registered on Zenodo and the Open Science Framework before any microgravity data collection begins. This is a firm commitment.
This experiment benefits from expertise in acoustic engineering, specifically transducer array design and acoustic levitation; microgravity payload engineering for parabolic flight and orbital platforms; particle visualization and high-speed imaging; and statisticians for experimental design review.
Improvements to the preliminary Phase 1 methodology are actively welcomed. If you have relevant expertise and want to contribute to the experimental design before prototyping begins, contact us at ic2.info@proton.me or visit the Contribute page.
Whether you are an acoustic physicist, a microgravity payload engineer, or someone who wants to help fund Phase 2, this experiment is at an early enough stage that contributions now shape how it is done.
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