Lissajous
WebGPU electron-beam curves, 3D knots, harmonographs, ratio locks, and phosphor persistence.
Lissajous turns small integer frequency ratios into a floating electron-beam sculpture. It opens fully developed, keeps moving without audio, and eases between rational locks instead of cutting from one figure to the next.
Open Lissajous
Launch the visualizer.
Four curve modes
- VECTOR draws the classic planar figure with independent sine, triangle, sawtooth, or square oscillators.
- BRAID adds a third oscillator for a true spatial knot.
- ORBITAL weaves the curve across a sphere.
- PENDULUM combines two damped oscillators per axis and re-strikes the motion as it fades.
Shape the instrument
Use Ratio Lock to resolve the three frequencies onto a small-rational lattice, then set Lock Morph for the glide time. Core Width, Halo Width, Phosphor Decay, bloom, and the three color controls shape the beam. Drag the canvas to inspect the knot; the camera eases back into its autonomous orbit after release.
The ten presets span all four modes, including two pendulum compositions. Autocycle can move by elapsed seconds, detected beats, or a deterministic random sequence.
Audio response
Bass adds physical width and amplitude. The live time-domain signal is wrapped around the curve itself, so music bends every beam and its phosphor histories instead of merely pulsing their brightness. Use Waveform Depth to move from a restrained trace to deep signal deformation. Mids push the figure's motion, while highs sharpen the beam head and phase detail. X Phase, Y Phase, and Z Phase each have their own modulation route, so different bands can continuously twist the figure across all three axes. Any modulatable control can follow a named source selected through Assign modulation below its slider.
Beam Speed is also modulatable and defaults to Volume. Its route accelerates the main curve drift, pendulum evolution, and moving beam head together, preserving one coherent instrument instead of letting the visible head detach from the line.
Lower Resolution if you need more headroom; it reduces visual detail while preserving the same composition.
Presets
Ion Braid · Green Vector · Violet Cipher · Polar Loom · Amber Pendulum · Copper Echo · Signal Teeth · Sphere Relay · Deep Phosphor · Bass Lock
Settings reference
Curve
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Vector / Braid / Orbital / Pendulum | Chooses the curve family. Pendulum reveals its own second-oscillator section. |
| X Wave / Y Wave | Sine / Triangle / Sawtooth / Square | Wave shape for the first two axes. |
| Z Wave | Sine / Triangle / Sawtooth / Square | Wave shape for depth. Shown in Braid, Orbital, and Pendulum modes. |
| X Frequency / Y Frequency | 1–9 | Oscillator ratios for the first two axes. |
| Z Frequency | 1–9 | Depth-axis ratio. Shown outside Vector mode. |
| X Phase / Y Phase | 0–360° | Rotates the first two oscillators through their cycles. Supports modulation. |
| Z Phase | 0–360° | Rotates the depth oscillator. Shown outside Vector mode and supports modulation. |
| X Amplitude / Y Amplitude | 0.1–1.5 | Width and height of the curve. Supports modulation. |
| Z Amplitude | 0.1–1.5 | Depth of the curve. Shown outside Vector mode and supports modulation. |
| Ratio Lock | On / Off | Resolves the three frequencies onto small integer relationships. |
| Lock Morph | 0.1–8 s | How long frequency locks take to glide into place. |
Pendulum
This section appears only when Mode is Pendulum.
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Second X / Y / Z Frequency | 1–9 | Frequency ratios for the second damped oscillator. |
| Second X / Y / Z Phase | 0–360° | Starting phase of the second oscillator on each axis. |
| Second Amplitude | 0–1.2 | Strength of the second oscillator. Supports modulation. |
| Primary Damping | 0–0.5 | How quickly the primary motion settles. |
| Second Damping | 0–0.7 | How quickly the second motion settles. |
| Re-Strike | 0–1.5 | Strength restored when the pendulum starts another stroke. |
Beam
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Core Width | 0.5–12 px | Width of the bright center line. Supports modulation. |
| Halo Width | 1–8 | Width of the light around the core. |
| Phosphor Decay | 0–1 | How long earlier traces remain visible. |
| Resolution | 0–1 | Render-resolution scale; lower values use less graphics power. |
| Hot Core / Phosphor / Void | Color | Core, halo, and backdrop colors. |
| Bloom | 0–3 | Strength of the brightest halo. Supports modulation. |
| Bloom Radius / Bloom Threshold | 0–1 | Halo spread and the brightness required before it appears. |
| Exposure | 0.2–2.5 | Overall scene brightness. |
Motion
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Beam Speed | 0.02–1.5 | Curve drift, pendulum evolution, and beam-head movement. Supports modulation. |
| Autocycle | Off / Seconds / Beat / Random | Chooses when the composition advances. |
| Cycle Time | 2–60 s | Time between changes. Shown when Autocycle is Seconds. |
| Camera Orbit | On / Off | Enables the autonomous camera path. |
| Orbit Speed | −1–1 | Camera direction and speed. Supports modulation. |
| Camera Distance | 3.5–14 | Camera distance from the curve. Supports modulation. |
| Camera Elevation | −4–5 | Camera height around the curve. |
Audio
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Master Gain | 0x–5x | Overall input sensitivity. |
| Bass / Mid / High Intensity | 0x–3x | Per-band response strength. |
| Smoothing | 0.01–0.8 | Balances immediate response against steadier motion. |
| Bass Physical | 0–2 | Bass-driven width and displacement. |
| Waveform Depth | 0–1.5 | How deeply the live waveform bends the curve. |
| Mid Morph | 0–2 | Midrange contribution to shape movement. |
| High Detail | 0–2 | High-frequency contribution to beam-head and phase detail. |