Synchronization of Metronomes
Harvard Natural Sciences Lecture DemonstrationsCited 4× on HN, 2017–2025
demo · general · evergreen · 2017–2025 on HN
A Harvard lecture demonstration in which five metronomes on a movable board gradually fall into synchronization through coupling. Removing the coupling lets them drift out of step.
Cited as the canonical visual demonstration of coupled oscillators synchronizing, applied to analogies from brain waves to LLM populations.
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4 comments from Hacker News
You might find some inspiration in this video of metronomes synchronising and desynchronysing [0]. It doesn't take much to cause things to happen at the same time, in the case the CEOs are likely all responding to the same market signals at the same time for the same reason. Probably interest rates. [0] ▶ this video
That may be reading too much into this behavior. Watch this video of metronomes self-synchronizing.[1] That's a pervasive phenomenon. Anything with similar oscillation frequency and coupling will do this. (Including polling systems with fixed retry intervals.) Are you sure that's not just this effect? [1] ▶ this video
Everything that oscillates at roughly the same frequency and has some coupling synchronizes.[1] No surprise here. [1] ▶ this video
resonance is a hellofa thing Can carry information, cf. Huygens synchronization, oscillators sync up through resonance... ▶ this video