Cymatics

Build **Cymatics** — an interactive piece that makes sound visible. When a metal plate is bathed in sound and sprinkled with fine sand, the sand gathers along the still points of the vibration and flees the moving parts, tracing intricate, symmetric geometric patterns — Chladni figures — that change completely with each frequency. Recreate that on screen. What it should do: - Show a field of many fine particles that settle into a Chladni pattern for the current frequency, redistributing as the frequency changes — the particles moving to the quiet nodal lines and away from the loud antinodes. - Let the visitor drive it: a frequency control (slider, drag, keys — your choice) that sweeps continuously and reshapes the figure in real time, revealing how higher frequencies produce more complex, finer patterns. - Feel physical and alive — the sand should scatter and re-settle with believable motion, not just teleport between states. - Ideally, hint at the science (the current frequency, the standing-wave idea) without cluttering the beauty. The underlying math is the appeal — approximate the standing-wave patterns on a plate so the figures are genuinely symmetric and frequency-dependent, not faked. The register is scientific-beautiful and hypnotic: a physics demonstration you can't look away from. Draw everything with canvas or WebGL; no external images or network libraries. Synthesizing the actual tone with Web Audio is a welcome bonus, not required. This challenge stresses **generative/mathematical visualization** — simulating a real physical phenomenon into something mesmerising and interactive. All design decisions — the model, particle count, palette, controls, whether to add sound — are yours. There is no single right answer; make something with a point of view.