Demonstrations

Lissajous Figures - Oscilloscope

Code Number :	3A80.20
Disclaimer:	Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website. The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources. Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA. The University of Iowa Disclaimers: University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..
Condition :	Excellent
Principle :	Lissajous Figures
Area of Study :	Acoustics
Equipment :	Tektronix 2235 oscilloscope, Wave generators (2) (Preferably the Wavetek digitals), Video camera with power supply.
Procedure :	Plug one wave generator into each input of a dual trace scope. Set the oscilloscope to X - Y plotting. If each generator is at the same frequency the figure will be in the form of a circle. More complicated patterns will be obtained with higher harmonic frequencies. The Wavetek generators work much better for this because they are more stable and they also have a 'stabilization mode' so that you can lock onto a desired frequency.

References

E.Y.C. Tong, "Lissajous Figures," TPT, Vol. 35, # 8, p. 491- 493 (Nov. 1997).

Thomas B. Greenslade, "All About Lissajous Figures", TPT, Vol. 31, # 6, Sept. 1993, p. 364.

Fred B. Otto, "Three-Dimensional Lissajous Figures", TPT, Vol. 29, # 4, Apr. 1991, p. 197.

Arthur Quinton, "The Generator of Lissajous Figures", TPT, Vol. 16, # 3, Mar. 1978, p. 178.

Frank G. Karioris, "Projection Sine-Sine Grid and Lissajous Figures", TPT, Vol. 13, # 5, May 1975, p. 294.

Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr., "Lissajous Figure Demonstrator (Photo)", AJP, Vol. 73, # 9, Sept. 2005, p. 892.

P. Jasselette and J. Vandermeulen, "More on Lissajous Figures," AJP, 52, (2), Feb. 1986.

Mu.Shiang Wu and W.H. Tsai, "Corrections for Lissajous Figures in Books," AJP, 52, (7), July 1984.

Sn- 2, 3: Freier and Anderson, A Demonstration Handbook for Physics.

M-930: "Lissajous Patterns on Scope," DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

1.25: Charles Taylor, The Art and Science of Lecture Demonstration, p. 50- 52.

Gerard L'E Turner, Nineteenth-Century Scientific Instruments, p. 145-146.

The Project Physics Course - Teachers Resource Book, "Concepts of Motion," "Frequency Measurements," p. 120.

Mail Questions and Comments to: Dale Stille