The Tibetan Singing Bowl

TL;DR

This paper explores the fluid dynamics of Tibetan singing bowls, demonstrating how their vibrations can levitate water droplets and produce complex surface wave patterns, linking historical use to physical phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a novel demonstration of droplet levitation using Tibetan singing bowls, connecting traditional instruments with fluid dynamics research.

Findings

Singing bowl vibrations can levitate water droplets.

Vibrations produce complex surface wave patterns.

Droplet levitation demonstrates fluid dynamic principles.

Abstract

The Tibetan singing bowl is a type of standing bell. Originating from Himalayan fire cults as early as the 5th century BC, they have since been used in religious ceremonies, for shamanic journeying, exorcism, meditation and shakra adjustment. A singing bowl is played by striking or rubbing its rim with a wooden or leather-wrapped mallet. The sides and rim of the bowl then vibrate to produce a rich sound. When the bowl is filled with water, this excitation can cause crispation of the water surface that can be followed by more complicated surface wave patterns and ultimately the creation of droplets. We here demonstrate the means by which the Tibetan singing bowl can levitate droplets. This is a sample arXiv article illustrating the use of fluid dynamics videos.