Cosmological Viewfinder – Nienke Bodenheim

Master Reflexion 2015

Nienke Bodenheim

www.nienke-bodenheim.com

The following is a scientific contemplation to the miscellaneous drawings I have made in the form of a dialogue with physicist and friend Elsa Callini, who did her PhD in physics at the University of Bologna. She currently works at EPFL, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Sion (CH) and is an expert in optical spectroscopy.

The dialogue is divided into 5 parts and each part begins with a drawing and

a

poem,

which

I

have

created

separately;

nevertheless,

in

correspondence with each other. In retrospect I see my work appear in natural phenomena, which is indicated in the first poem of each section in the dialogue.

Elsa Callini has responded to this with scientific theory by

means of intuition, then clarified with a graph.

The second poem and theoretical piece in each section is a response to a verbal diagnose in dialogue of each first part.

This means that each

section is conducted with the same amount of spontaneous impulse on either side of the dialogue and freedom to express or not to express.

The chief constituent in my work is the relevance of a particular shape and how shapes relate to one another. They are shapes that contradict each other in size, breaking the rules of composition due to its placement and juxtaposition, creating tension through imbalance, which leads to optic movement. Science has progressively fascinated me throughout the years.

There is a strange interplay of how the universe is constructed and how its physical makeup is echoed in measurements and structure.

For instance the

way the planets orbit around stars is mirrored by the way the electrons orbit around the nucleus in the atom. Physics aspires to answer numerous fundamental questions such as: What is matter made from? What is smaller than

sub-particles

and

bigger

than

galaxies?

What

is

the

limit

to

measurement? What occurs when particles randomly move in the eye of the Brownian-Motion?

What

is

the

interaction

among

particles,

atoms

and

molecules? Is there a unique force or energy that can explain all the natural phenomena? The particular utilization of placement and size is essential in my work and these elements can be traced back to science. This is an attempt to reflect and resonate space and movement in visual physics, playing with the gravitational forces, to create comical tension.

Part 1

Mammoth Mother ship In which contorted veins rip and spew inward Floating Flecks full of fire As many other spheres Tire in her gravitational pull A tenebrous eye lies in her bosom Devouring spies that dare to come near Whereupon she eats and swallows herself My thoughts vanish in the vacuum of her secrecy

DARK MATTER

Dark

matter

is

a

hypothesized

form

of

matter

that

does

not

emit

electromagnetic radiation. The existence of dark matter is postulated to explain physical phenomena and effects that can be understood as the result of the interaction of stars and galaxies with another massive entity. Its existence

is

therefore

inferred

from

gravitational

effects

matter.

http://physics.about.com/od/glossary/g/darkmatter.htm http://lux.brown.edu/LUX_dark_matter/Experiment.html http://www.amazon.com/Particle-Physics-Dark-Matter-Energy/dp/1845494776

on

visible

https://str.llnl.gov/str/Sep07/Craig.html

Not only the mind of a scientist is boggled For this abstruse substance has not been obtained Merely caressed and famed by light deflected This intangible, ghost-like glue Is giving its weight to the world, Like an altruistic goo It holds it all together In this matter we remain For it to enter the atom in its center This to gain In dubitable grasp

BLACK HOLE

A

black

hole

is

an

agglomerate

of

matter,

so

densely

packed

that

its

gravitational field does not allow light to escape. As every mass, black holes influence the surrounding entities. It is therefore possible to study such objects indirectly, by measuring the alterations induced on neighbors’ masses.

http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes/

Part 2

Boneless thing Ballooning Contracting Swimming Quest Stretched tentacles Rubbing Other membrane Almost merging Quaver Splitting half Pressed In liquid immersed Quaff

MEMBRANE FOR WATER SPLITTING

A membrane is a thin layer of permeable material, natural or synthetic.

When used in a device where chemical reactions take place (as for instance the split of the water molecule), the membrane maintains separated the different phases or products of the reaction.

http://nsl.caltech.edu/research:membrane http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/ebook/978-1-84973-647-3#!divbookcontent

http://m.blog.daum.net/changjotechno/2863733

Joined in molecular matrimony The lovers are brutally set part Severed by a membrane, saturated in solution Then electrocuted Whereupon one is carefully contained to redeem its verve The other released in mid air If somehow they would reunite again It would be death through combustion

AMOEBA

Amoebas are among the simplest living beings. They are mono-cells entities, consisting of a nucleus and cytoplasm. They have sub millimeters dimensions and undefined shapes.

Â

http://www.biology-resources.com/amoeba-01.html

Part 3

Light splinters dispersing, Jabbing into the epidermis of the water Clotting in the middle To make a shape That buoyantly and perpetually Changes and Rearranges

While sparkles drift And crystals shift,

Meander and stray

With which the ray urges to bewilder

COALESCENCE

With coalescence it is possible to define the phenomenon in which different entities are merged together to form a single resulting one. Typically this happens

for

droplets

in

solutions,

but

the

same

is

applicable

for

nanoparticles or bubbles. The driving force is normally the minimization of the surface area, which translates into minimization of surface energy.

Despite

the

necessity

of

overcoming

an

activation

barrier,

external

conditions might make this process energetically favorable.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/coalescence http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/surfaces/scc/scat1_5.htm http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/surfaces/scc/scat1_6.htm Breakage and Coalescence in Dispersed Phase Systems, K. J. Valentas and N. R. Amundson, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fundamentals 1966 5 (4), 533-542, DOI: 10.1021/i160020a018

http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/show/Dynamics-of-Emulsion-Coalescence.htm

A swollen charismatic bubble While it lies the lips so subtle

Flushing wetness within it holds Whispering lover of the naked folds

Desolate in beatific rain This creation of water – in it they chain

REFRACTING INDEX

When light propagates from a source to a detector, it traverses different media.

Its

speed,

which

is

max

in

vacuum,

differs

according

to

the

different materials through which the light passes. Since it is possible to represent the speed of light as a vector with a certain direction, versus and

length,

the

interface

between

different

media

has

the

effect

of

changing the speed of light vector. This is at the origin of the optical effect of bent stick partially immersed in water.

http://physics.info/refraction/

Part 4

A Moisture Mold A Suspended Tank A Massive Mass of Droplets In Gradual Transfiguration A Voluminous Creature In Supreme Saturation Spreading Clusters Then the Departure of Particles A Multitude of Luminous Dots Descend Until the shape no more Is

SCINTILLATOR

A scintillator is a detector for ionizing radiation. It produces light, when hit

by

an

intensity

incident and

the

radiation. energy

of

It

is

the

therefore incident

a

method

radiation

accurately.

http://pdg.lbl.gov/2011/reviews/rpp2011-rev-particle-detectors-accel.pdf http://www.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/~coulon/Lectures/Detectors/

to

estimate

efficiently

the and

http://www.xtal.iqfr.csic.es/Cristalografia/parte_06-en.html

Â

Prod at new terrain Little traveler what is your name Show your face And make your way inside the space of the crystal Collision Coming in the flesh Light up At best Manifest Your color In its potency and ardor Multiply yourself congruent Fluent in a wave of electrical current

CLOUDS

Clouds are en ensemble of water molecules. They can be considered as water storage systems. They are formed for coalescence of water vapor molecules, evaporated at the surface of seas, lakes or rivers.

Â

The Book of Clouds, John Day, Publisher: Sterling 2005, ISBN-13: 978-1402728136

Part 5

Skinny sound shape shushing me

Tufts of grass move fierce Pushed to point in different directions The contour of trees conform to this force

Air inside paper Press out shapes That cling to edges Air in the sky Where birds draw lines Into the drawing Calling forth the witness of the invisible

FIELD LINES

As a force can be visualized by a vector, with a certain direction, versus and length, the effect of the force, a field, can as well be represented by lines with a certain direction, versus and length. The field lines are the mathematical representation of the intensity of the field; in other terms they are the representation of the intensity of the perturbation, which the force generating the field induces in the surroundings.

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/417438main_Magnetic_Math.pdf http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783540302827

http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/111218/in-which-direction-does-the-current-flow-ina-wire-moving-north-to-south-along-t

The needle pivots A magnet underneath the crust An iron heart inside the bust Feet sunk in soil The vector field in which my thoughts coil Am I lost A disc of the globe lies in my hand Red triangle positively pointing south An imaginary line rests in the sand I follow and walk upon it

WIND TURBINES

Wind turbines are the modern version of windmills. Blades rotate when hit by the wind. The mechanical energy produced by the blades motion can be converted into different energy forms, as chemical energy or electricity.

Wind Turbines, Erich Hau, Publisher:Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013, ISBN 978-3-64227151-9

In conclusion this dialogue took several unexpected yet favorable turns.

The

first

different

poem

in

(other

each than

part the

triggered one

Elsa

inside

Callini

the

poem),

to

respond

although

with

a

related

phenomenon, which was not only amusing but also inspiring. This roused a discussion and brought forth a new analysis, which galvanized us to create each five new responses to each initial first part. I had to dig deeper into scientific research in order to reciprocate the knowledge. And as a result my view has been broadened, my understanding of the universe has been expanded and this allowed me to see my work through a scientist’s eyes.

Without

exception,

the

topics

exhilarating and strange adventure.

that

surfaced

made

it

into

an