Wheatstone's rod

noun

Either of a pair of flexible rods whose periods of vibration in two planes at right angles are in some exact ratio to one another. When one end of such a rod is fixed, the free end describes through vibration the corresponding Lissajous figure.

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Meanings

nounWheatstone's rod (plural Wheatstone's rods)

plural Wheatstone's rods

  1. acousticsEither of a pair of flexible rods whose periods of vibration in two planes at right angles are in some exact ratio to one another. When one end of such a rod is fixed, the free end describes through vibration the corresponding Lissajous figure.

Origin

Named after English physicist and inventor Charles Wheatstone (1802–1875), who devised them.

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Cite this entry
APA

Wheatstone's rod. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wheatstone's%20rod

MLA

“Wheatstone's rod.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wheatstone's%20rod. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wheatstone's rod,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wheatstone's%20rod.

Source: Wheatstone's rod on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.