Handpan — physics, mechanics and construction (3D)
About this app
A handpan in D Kurd to play: each tone field vibrates in three eigenmodes tuned to fundamental, octave and twelfth (1 : 2 : 3), with nodal lines and spectrum. Plus the build from nitrided half-shells, the body as a Helmholtz resonator and tuning via curvature and tension.
With explain mode: an AI tutor walks you through the app, points out what matters in the scene and answers your questions.
What it is about
A handpan consists of two deep-drawn, gas-nitrided steel shells. On top sit the ding and several tone fields, at the bottom the opening called the gu. Each tone field is a curved, prestressed steel surface with a dome in the middle. Its first three eigenmodes are tuned by shape and residual stress to frequencies 1 : 2 : 3: fundamental, octave and twelfth. Because these partials form a harmonic series, you hear a clear tone. The body acts as a Helmholtz resonator and only reinforces the lowest range.
What the app shows
The app shows a handpan in D Kurd tuning in 3D. A struck field vibrates visibly, in slow motion and exaggerated. The three eigenmodes can be viewed one by one or combined: mode 1 moves in phase, mode 2 has a nodal line along the short axis, mode 3 along the long axis. A spectrum shows frequencies, ratios and deviations in cents. An exploded view with a section shows shells, fields, dome, nitrided layer and gu. The resonator view works out the Helmholtz frequency with end correction.
Try it yourself
Tap a field at different spots: in the centre almost only the fundamental sounds, because the nodal lines of modes 2 and 3 meet there. Compare the spectrum with a church bell and a flat plate. Detune a field through size, curvature and residual stress and hear the beating against a reference tone. Change the diameter and neck depth of the gu and watch the air resonance shift. The models are schematic and named with sources in the info panel.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does a handpan sound so harmonious?
- After a strike, each tone field vibrates in several eigenmodes at once. The first three are tuned to frequencies 1 : 2 : 3, that is fundamental, octave and twelfth. Partials at integer multiples fuse into one tone for the ear. Measurements on the hang show exactly these three modes with mutually perpendicular nodal lines.
- Is the sound of a handpan made in the cavity?
- No. The tone is made by the vibrating steel of the tone fields. The air in the body forms a Helmholtz resonator with the gu, whose frequency depends on volume, opening area and effective neck length. On the hang, played on the lap, it is tuned to D2 (about 73 Hz) and mainly reinforces the low ding.
- How is a tone field tuned?
- The tuner uses a hammer to change the curvature and residual stress of the field until fundamental, octave and twelfth fit at the same time. The field size shifts all partials together. A blow on a mode’s nodal line hardly changes that mode’s frequency, but does change the others.
- What can I try in the handpan app?
- You strike tone fields at different spots, see the three eigenmodes, compare the spectrum with a bell and a flat plate, take the instrument apart in an exploded view, work out the Helmholtz resonance and detune a field against a reference tone.
Subject: Physics
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