Preset group · Universal constants
Universal constants. The world's numbers, heard.
Some numbers show up everywhere: π in every circle, φ in the spiral, e in everything that grows, √2 in the diagonal of a square. And some constants of physics have fascinated physicists themselves, like 137, the inverse of the fine-structure constant, which Pauli never stopped thinking about.
This group turns them into sound. Not to say they sound like this in nature: to listen to them.
The formulas and the figures in the code.
π, φ, e and √2 are ratios between two tones. π and e play over 110 Hz (A2): the high tone is 110 × π = 345.6 Hz and 110 × e = 299 Hz. φ and √2 play over 220 Hz: 356 Hz and 311.1 Hz. All four are irrational: the ratio never repeats.
The other two are figures turned into hertz. 1/α ≈ 137.036 (the fine-structure constant has no units) plays at 137.036 Hz. The speed of light, exactly 299,792,458 m/s since 1983, divided by a million, plays at 299.792 Hz. It's a symbolic game: neither α nor c is a frequency.
One line per preset.
- π 3.14159… (ratio)
110 Hz + 345.6 Hz
π, the ratio of every circle, as an interval over 110 Hz.
Physical figure (4, 2) · No layer
- φ 1.61803… (ratio)
220 Hz + 356 Hz
φ, the golden ratio, as an interval over 220 Hz.
Physical figure (6, 2) · Symbolic layer: Golden Spiral
- e 2.71828… (ratio)
110 Hz + 299 Hz
e, the number of everything that grows, as an interval over 110 Hz.
Physical figure (4, 2) · No layer
- √2 1.41421… (ratio)
220 Hz + 311.1 Hz
√2, the square's diagonal: the tempered tritone, over 220 Hz.
Physical figure (6, 2) · No layer
- 1/α 137.036 Hz · fine structure
137.04 Hz
1/α, the number that fascinated Pauli, turned into hertz.
Physical figure (4, 2) · No layer
- c ÷ 10⁶ · 299.792 Hz
299.79 Hz
The speed of light divided by a million, turned into hertz.
Physical figure (6, 4) · No layer
Tab. 01 · Plate figure calculated by the app's core (cym.core.js) for each frequency: a square plate driven at the center, f = 5.5·(n² + m²) Hz. Two modes = the plate answers with both.
The physical figure and the symbolic layer.
In XY, each irrational ratio draws a Lissajous curve that turns without closing, each with its own character. In Chladni the plate follows the tones: π and e share the low tone, 110 Hz, mode (4, 2); 1/α lands on mode (4, 2) and c ÷ 10⁶ on mode (6, 4).
Only φ carries a layer, the Golden Spiral: symbolic, not calculated from the sound.
What people ask about this group.
Q1What does π sound like?
Like an interval: two tones, one 3.14159… times higher than the other. In Cymatica, 110 Hz and 345.6 Hz. Since π is irrational, the relationship between the two waves never repeats.
Q2What is 137?
It's almost exactly the inverse of the fine-structure constant, α, which measures the strength between light and matter. It has no units: putting it in hertz is a symbolic game by Cymatica.
Q3Do these constants sound like this in nature?
No. They're numbers turned into sound so you can hear them and see them. Physics doesn't say π or c has a frequency.