Tabletop Experiments - Harmonograph

Tabletop Experiments
Harmonograph

Harmonograph drawing, from workshop at Tate Liverpool http://www.tate.org.uk/families/events/liverpool/

The Harmonograph is a drawing machine that uses pendulums to draw complex images resembling ‘Lissajous’ figures, it was invented in 1844 by Scottish mathematician Hugh Blackburn. The invention had no use as such but became a popular scientific toy and demonstration device.

Harmonograph detail, Tate Liverpool. See film here...

I built this harmonograph [click here to see video] with three pendulums, two of which swing at right angles to each other on ‘knife edge bearings’, working together to create a circular motion – the third pendulum swings on a ‘gimbal’ [the crucial part is made from a keyring], enabling it to rotate in a circle on its own.Swinging these together and adjusting the weights creates a vast array of patterns – so far not one has been the same.

More information on construction on the vimeo page with the video...