Earthquake Resonance Demonstrator
Three flexible columns of different heights sit on one shaking base. Shake it slow, medium, or fast — or grab the base and shake it yourself — and watch which column resonates. Each column sways hardest when the shaking frequency matches its own natural frequency.
Shake Table
Idle👉 Drag the base left–right to shake it by hand, or press a speed button. The taller the column, the slower it likes to sway.
What is happening?
Every structure has a natural frequency — the rhythm it naturally wants to sway at. A short, stiff column wants to sway fast; a tall, flexible column wants to sway slowly.
- Shake slow → the tall column goes wild (low natural frequency).
- Shake medium → the middle column resonates.
- Shake fast → the short column resonates (high natural frequency).
When the shaking frequency matches a column's natural frequency, energy is added in step with each swing and the motion grows — that's resonance. It's why an earthquake can flatten one building while a taller or shorter neighbor barely moves.