LissaJukebox Is a Dedicated Machine for Generating Lissajous Curves

Lissajous curves are the mesmerizing result of graphing two functions, one on the X axis and one on the Y axis. They have a practical purpose in mathematics, but you most likely know them as the pretty graphics that show up on monitors in the background of sci-fi TV shows and movies. Emily Velasco thought it’d be fun to build a dedicated Lissajous curve generation machine, and the LissaJukebox is the result.

You may remember Velasco from her Freeform Mini CRT Sculpture that we featured a few months ago. Many of her projects feature vintage cathode-ray tubes, which are perfect for displaying Lissajous curves. CRTs normally create a picture by sweeping an electron beam very quickly back and forth across the screen, line by line. That beam is controlled by deflection coils in the X and Y axes, which means it’s well-suited to graphing the functions for a Lissajous curve.

To create the signal feeds to control the electron beam deflection coils in the CRT, Velasco used a pair of XR2206 function generator kits. Those feeds are increased to usable levels by a stereo amplifier board. By altering the mathematical functions on the XR2206 generators, the resulting Lissajous curves can be modified. Velasco built a custom control panel to handle those adjustments, which she first mocked-up in laser-cut cardboard and then cut from aluminum on a water jet. The finished LissaJukebox control panel looks fantastic, and generates beautiful Lissajous curves.