Faraday Powder

Faraday Powder is the twin of Chladni Sand. The same invisible vibrating plate is covered with light, glowing powder instead of sand, and the powder does the opposite: rather than fleeing the moving areas, it gathers on them in small swirling heaps that hover above the plate and glow hotter where the shaking is strongest.

How it works

Faraday described this in 1831: powder too fine to be thrown about is carried by tiny currents in the air above the plate toward the spots that move most. Here each heap floats at a height set by how hard its spot shakes and turns slowly, with neighbouring heaps spinning in opposite directions. Resting powder is a dim ember of the base colour; powder churning in a strong spot heats toward the glow colour, so dense heaps bloom.

Settings

• Frequency, Sweep and Damping: which figure rings, how far the note glides and how pure the figures are.
• Amplitude: how hard the plate shakes the powder.
• Hover and Swirl: how high the heaps float and how fast they turn.
• Color and Glow Color: resting and churning powder.

As with Chladni Sand, the cursor can bow the edge of the plate, touch it with a finger so the heaps migrate to a new figure, or tap it to blow the powder up in an expanding ring.

Use it for

Abstract, sound and fire-like visuals and music releases. Compare it with Chladni Sand or browse all particles.