A vibrating plate refers to a flat structure or tool that rapidly moves back and forth, causing vibrations. It is often used in construction or gardening to help compact or flatten surfaces such as soil or concrete. Full definition
Since that time it has sprawled into a number of different research areas: At MIT, Jerison is exploring the broader mathematical implications of the function; in France, Filoche is using a scanning tunneling microscope to experimentally assess the function's predictions, and a separate research team (led by Patrick Sebbah of the Langevin Institute) is directly measuring localizations in vibrating plates; and in California, Weisbuch is designing new LEDs. (scientificamerican.com)
So far, however, attempts to harvest this energy using vibrating plates or piezoelectric materials, which produce electricity when compressed or bent, have mustered only a few milliwatts. (scientificamerican.com)
Kate Ravilious notes that, at low densities, tiny copper rods move around on a gently vibrating plate in a random... (newscientist.com)