Cymatics is the study of resonance and inteferometry of waves or vibrations in materials. Using sine wave vibrations from simple audio generators it is possible to cause powders and fluids to form flowing or static patterns on the vibrating surface. This effect is being used to study wave phenomenon that relate to the structure of matter (see physic section) Interference patterns on the vibrating surface can be made to resemble individual particles known as oscillons.

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Oscillon is the name given to a localized columnar shape spontaneously formed by vibrating particles under certain conditions. This self-sustaining state was named by analogy with the large-scale formation, the soliton, which is a localized wave that maintains its integrity as it moves, as with bores on rivers.

The apparently new phenomenon was discovered by experiments at University of Texas at Austin. The causes of these phenomena are unknown at the moment; they most likely have connections with the mathematical theory of chaos and may give insights into the way atoms organize and interact. Oscillons may give clues to understanding fundamental patterns in other areas.

The experimental procedure is similar to that used to form Chladni figures of sand on a vibrating plate. Researchers realized that these figures say more about the vibrations in the plate than in the sand and created an experimental set-up — using a shallow layer of those brass balls in a vacuum — that minimized outside effects. When they vibrated the plate at critical amplitude, they found that the balls spontaneously formed a localized vibrating column which lasted indefinitely.

Oscillons have been experimentally observed in thin parametrically vibrated layers of viscous fluid. Oscillons have been associated with faraday waves because they require similar resonance conditions.
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"Schlieren" optical system