Soundform No.1 is a minimalistic soundscape and kinetic art installation that transforms heat energy into a poetically evolving, spatiotemporal composition.
Sound is created thermoacoustically by activating heating elements inside quartz glass tubes. As the glass warms, a nickel-titanium spring reacts, pulling the cylinder upright. At the correct angle, airflow becomes unrestricted, and a thermoacoustic phenomenon, known as a Rijke effect (named for the professor who discovered the phenomenon in 1859), creates an audible tone. The tone is a product of the glass tube’s length and diameter, combined with the rapid change of temperature in the air column. Through a modulation of heat, light and motion, Soundform No.1 creates an ever-changing atmosphere of Zen-like tonal patterns and visual effects.