TexNET > Exhibits > Sound > Oscylinder Scope

The Oscylinder Scope is an interactive artwork/exhibit which explores the nature of sound by directly translating the vibration
pattern of musical strings into visible waves. You first start
a large horizontal cylinder rolling by spinning it with your left hand. You use your other hand to strum the three musical strings. White lines engraved into the black cylinder scan the vibrating strings so that they appear as wavy lines. This
startling phenomenon is at the heart of the Oscylinder Scope. The displayed wave form looks and acts like the trace on an electric oscilloscope. Each of the three musical strings displays a different wave pattern according to its frequency. You use a foot pedal to change the sound you hear, as well as the shape of the wave you see.