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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Chladni patterns explained by the space-dependent diffusion of bouncing grains

Anaïs Abramian*, Suzie Protière, and Arnaud Lazarus

Olivier Devauchelle

  • *Contact author: anais.abramian@upmc.fr
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L032001 – Published 1 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.L032001

Abstract

Although Chladni patterns are widely used to visualize the modes of vibration of an elastic plate, the mechanism by which the grains form the pattern is still debated. In this Letter, we suggest that the pattern results from space-dependent diffusion: grains gather where their diffusivity is low. We test this hypothesis in experiments, wherein we generate Chladni patterns on a vibrating membrane. We measure the diffusivity of the grains as a function of the vibration amplitude and propose an expression of the diffusive flux based on our measurements. We find a steady-state distribution of the grains in agreement with observations. These findings could inspire new methods to manipulate and segregate particles.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L032001– Published 1 July, 2025
  • Received 12 July 2024
  • Revised 26 November 2024
  • Accepted 11 April 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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