"Bells"

            To operate this Exploratorium Project, you must sprinkle a layer of sand on each of the metal plates.  Using the bow, quickly stroke the edge of the plate vertically until you hear a pitch.  Then, lengthen the strokes until the tone is loud.  Once the plate has reached a desired pitch, stop stroking and let it ring.  Now you may observe the sand is it forms a pattern.

            Aren’t the sand formations intriguing?  After seeing this, one can only ask himself, “How does that work?”  It is much more than odd luck.  For, mathematics plays a major role in this amazing event.  The audible sound that comes from the plate is from the vibration taking place.  In turn, the sand vibrates into patterns of resonance that can be explained by math and science.  This explanation can be mostly found in the separate research paper.  To sum it all up, the bow adds energy to the plates and further vibrates the nodes and nodal lines upon which the plate consists.  These vibrations push the sand around – the more energy, the more vigorous the movement of formations.  Try stroking different pitches and volumes on the plates using the bow.  You will notice that the sand formations also change.  Further, the experiment relates to science, pertaining to the Law of Conservation of Energy that energy cannot be created nor destroyed.  See, more vigorous stroking adds more energy and more movement, whereas the less energy, the less movement.  Overall, the sound, nodal lines, and applied energy determine how the sand will form on each plate.