Wave Propagation and Self-Similar Structures: Common Patterns Across Sound, Light, and Lightning

This essay explores the recurring appearance of branching, fractal, and self-similar patterns across sound, light, and lightning. Drawing on concepts from wave physics, acoustics, optics, cymatics, and electrical discharge theory, it argues that fern-like, floral, and dendritic structures may arise from common principles of energy propagation. While the physical mechanisms differ, sound waves, optical wavefronts, and electrical discharges can all generate organised geometries that reveal how energy, information, and structure evolve within complex systems.