Lissajous Figures
by Science Photo Library
Title
Lissajous Figures
Artist
Science Photo Library
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Lissajous figures. 19th-century illustration of light curves tracing Lissajous figures, obtained by the use of vibrating tuning forks and light reflection and refraction using mirrors and lenses. The curves are an example of complex harmonic motion. The shape and number of observed lobes in the curves depends on the ratio of the sinusoidal waves in the underlying motion (the vibration of the tuning forks). This ratio is given at left. The curves were investigated by US mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch in 1815, and by French physicist Jules Antoine Lissajous in 1857. This illustration is from 'Physique Populaire' (Emile Desbeaux, 1891).
Uploaded
September 16th, 2018
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