Posts and pointers on software, art, math, noise, and other obsessions…
I stumbled across two nice representations today. The first is a series of images visualizing turbulence. Some of these models took millions of processor hours to compute.
The second is a periodic table of the elements assembled out of 118 prints in various media. Sadly, no poster seems to be available just yet, but the project initiator hints that many things are in the works. Wouldn’t high school chemistry have been more fun this way?
Ernst Chladni invented a way of visualizing the vibrations on a metal plate by sprinkling sand on the plate and making it vibrate using a violin bow. The sand scatters and collects at the places where the plate is not vibrating (the nodes of vibration), creating a fascinating family of visual patterns. The images below are artistic renderings of some of the many possible patterns. See more at the U Of T Physics Department and more gory details on the math from Paul Bourke—including some visualizations of what Chladni patterns in three dimensions would look like.
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[Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a good applet which demonstrates this behaviour. (Sounds like a perfect project for proce55ing!) If anyone knows of a nice visual demonstration, please let me know and I'll update this entry.]
It’s freakin’ cold outside, so might as well enjoy the view…
This image (click for full view and explanation) is actually part of the first annual Art of Science competition at Princeton University: “Celebrating the aesthetics of research and the ways in which science and engineering inform art.”
This animated piece on Ben & Jerry’s research into environmentally-friendly alternatives to refrigerants is cute, educational, and…a little weird. Personally, I like the “really nice cow who doesn’t talk much” the best.
