Watch this mercury drop suspended on Teflon as the surface is vibrated at specific amplitude and frequency. The frequencies create different modes of resonance, because the molecules vibrate faster when shaken at a certain speed.

This is similar to how your glass of water will form ripples if exposed to the right sounds (like the thumping of a T-rex walking toward your car). The vibrations from the sounds moves the molecules of mercury and form them into different geometric shapes.

At mode two, the mercury switches between two elliptical shapes that are perpendicular to each other.

In mode three, the form has three corners, and the mercury blob switches between two "directions." The cycle continues, four, five, six, seven and eight cornered shapes. When subjected to a random vibration, one that didn't resonate with the liquid element, chaos ensues.

The noises used in the video are too low in frequency for us to hear, but they are on par with the very deep tones elephants use to communicate long distances.

The video was uploaded in 2007 by YouTube user alextremes. Make sure to heed its warning: "Mercury is extremely dangerous so don't play with it. It can go through skin and mercury vapors are toxic. DON'T TRY TO DO IT AT HOME."

(via Fuck Yeah Fluid Dynamics)