"In general, a stable bound state is said to exist in a given potential of some dimension if stationary wavefunctions exist (normalized in the range of the potential). The energies of these wavefunctions are negative."

Wikipedia

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www.lakelandphotographs.co.uk/

Shadows and highlights wavy rhythm.

Nightcafe creation with DreamShaper v8

 

Mirrored in Photoshop from a previous AI creation. The purpose is to use this as a T-Shirt pattern.

 

The seed image I used was more responsible for the overall pattern and color than the text prompt. The seed was a colorful surreal/abstract eye.

 

PROMPT:

"abstract vector fractal, wave function, Zentangle, 3d shading, red and blue on a grey pattern background"

  

I just finished a history of quantum physics that came out this week: Anil Ananthaswamy’s Through Two Doors at Once. It uses the classic two-slit interference experiment as the common thread across generations of theories that try to explain its peculiar properties. Richard Feynman calls it the “one experiment which has been designed to contain all of the mystery of quantum mechanics.”

 

Things get strange when you shoot a single photon through the double slit. It deflects when passing through the slit, and when a string of distinct photons are sent, they accumulate in places where you’d expect in an interference pattern, but there is only one photon, and only one of two slits it could have passed through; yet it behaves as if it is interfering with itself.

 

With more complicated setups involving beam splitters, the photon will behave as a wave, as expected with multi-photon interference patterns, but if observed in its trajectory, it will act as a particle as one would expect, with nothing to interfere with its path.

 

With more complex setups and long light paths, this bifurcation of behavior (wave or particle) can even be made to occur after the fact, warping our sense of time and causality.

 

And it not just photons. Similar results have been achieved with neon atoms, C60 Buckyballs, and even a custom molecule of 810 atoms.

 

The notion of superposition, required to explain this quantum interference, “is the most unsettling story perhaps to have emerged from any of the physical sciences since the seventeenth century.” Prof. David Albert, p.80.

 

And then it gets really strange, when you consider the entanglement of photons that can collapse simultaneously when one is observed, even at a great distance away. This nonlocal behavior is a subject of much debate, including Einstein’s objections to quantum physics. Einstein’s most cited paper is not on relativity, it is his 1935 paper identifying the property of entanglement, which he called “spooky action at a distance.”

 

The critical role that an observer plays in the experimental results (specifically, the collapse of the wavefunction in the Copenhagen interpretation) is a bit unsettling and anti-realist and reflective of the philosophical correctness of the day — with literary modernism questioning the ambiguities inherent to any one perspective of the world. In quantum physics and literary modernism, “there is no true world, since everything is but a perspectival appearance whose origin lies in us.” Prof. Albert p.183.

 

The theory that I favor is the one that modifies neither philosophy nor physics and explains the two-slit experiment without resorting to an observer or the particle-wave duality; it solves determinism and non-locality, but… it is a psychological bender — the many interacting worlds interpretation. Each discrete photon is interfering with its sister particle in a parallel universe, and each quantum transition event spawns a copy of each universe, one for each path the particle could take. “The idea that 10^100 slightly imperfect copies of oneself all constantly splitting into further copies is not easy to reconcile with common sense. Here is schizophrenia with a vengeance.” Prof. DeWitt p.227.

 

And this brings us to the Universe Splitter app on my iPhone. Each time I use it to make a decision, it directs a single photon through a beam splitter in Geneva, Switzerland, and there is subsequently one universe where the photon goes left and one where it goes straight. We happen to be in the one that observes one of those outcomes.

 

When I read Feynman’s QED (Quantum Electrodynamics), I was struck by the peculiar squiggles that helped him visualize the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics. “The insight that Feynman had was to realize that what’s interfering are two different states of the universe. And those two states may only differ by where a single particle is.” Prof. Aephraim Steinberg, p.232.

 

It was David Deutsch’s exploration of the two-slit experiment with single photons that guided him to parallel universes and the intuition behind quantum computers and their capacity to out-compute anything we could build that leveraged just one universe!

 

And that brings us to the Entanglion game, published by IBM Research. I have yet to play that, in this universe at least, but hope to soon.

✰ This photo was featured on The Epic Global Showcase here: flavoredtape.com/post/154381644227

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✦ Now featuring: SAKURAI THE ART IN THE FOURTH DIMENSION SUBATOMIC SPHERES by tom sakurai

The SAKURAI Quantum Microscope - Into The Hydrogen Atom. OBSERVATIONS FROM 2007/1000. Experimental and calculated images of the nodal structure of four atomic hydrogen Stark states What lies within the H atom? The first direct observation of the orbital structure of an excited hydrogen atom has been made by an international team of researchers lead by SAKURAI. The observation was made using a newly developed “quantum microscope”, which uses photoionization microscopy to visualize the structure directly. The team’s demonstration proves that “photoionization microscopy”, which was first proposed more than 30 years ago, can be experimentally realized and can serve as a tool to explore the subtleties of quantum mechanics. Information flow The wavefunction is a central tenet of quantum theory – put simply, it contains the maximum knowledge that is available about the state of a quantum system. More specifically, the wavefunction is the solution to the Schrödinger equation. The square of the wavefunction describes the probability of where exactly a particle might be located at a given time. Although it features prominently in quantum theory, directly measuring or observing the wavefunction is no easy task, as any direct observation destroys the wavefunction before it can be fully observed. In the past, “Rydberg wavepacket” experiments have tried to observe the wavefunction using ultrafast laser pulses. In these experiments, the atoms are in a superposition of their highly excited “Rydberg states”. These experiments show that the periodic electron orbitals around nuclei are described by coherent superpositions of quantum-mechanical stationary states. The wavefunction of each of these states is a standing wave with a nodal pattern (a “node” is where there is zero probability of finding an electron) that reflects the quantum numbers of the state. While previous experiments have attempted to capture the elusive wavefunction or the nodal patterns, the methods used were not successful. Direct observation of the nodal structure of a single atom being most difficult to achieve. Plotting waves In the new work, SAKURAI, of the FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in the Netherlands, along with colleagues at the Max-Born-Institute in Berlin, Germany, and other colleagues in Europe and the US have shown that photoionization microscopy can directly obtain the nodal structure of the electronic orbital of a hydrogen atom placed in a static electric field. In the experiment, the hydrogen atom is placed in the electric field E and is excited by laser pulses. The ionized electron escapes from the atom and follows a particular trajectory to the detector – a dual microchannel plate (MCP) detector – that is perpendicular to the field itself. Given that there are many such trajectories that reach the same point on the detector, interference patterns can be observed, which the team magnify by a factor of more than 20,000 using an electrostatic zoom lens. The interference pattern directly reflects the nodal structure of the wavefunction. The experiments were carried out with both resonant ionization involving a Rydberg state and non-resonant ionization. The team chose the hydrogen atom thanks to its unique properties. “These [hydrogen atoms] are very peculiar…as hydrogen has only one electron, which interacts with the nucleus via a purely Coulombic interaction, it has a particular structure when we place it in a DC electric field,” says SAKURAI. He goes on to explain that thanks to its single-electron status, hydrogen’s wavefunction can be written as the product of two wavefunctions, which describe how it changes as a function of two coordinates – the so-called parabolic coordinates. That is, the Hamiltonian of the hydrogen atom (in an external electric field) describes a splitting of its energy levels, which is known as the “Stark effect”. More importantly, though, this “Stark Hamiltonian” is exactly separable in terms of the two parabolic coordinates, which are linear combinations of the distance of the electron from the hydrogen nucleus r and the displacement of the electron along the electric-field axis z. SAKURAI told physicsworld.com that the shape of the two parabolic wavefunctions is therefore “completely independent of the strength of the field, and so it is invariable – it stays the same as the electron travels for more than half a metre in the experiment – all the way from where the ionization occurs up to the 2D and 4D detectors”. This, he explains, is crucial to scaling up the spatial distribution to magnify the nodal patterns to millimetre-scale dimensions, where they can be observed with the naked eye on the 2D detector and recorded with a camera system in 4D. “What you see on the detector is what exists in the atom,” he says. The group observed several hundreds of thousands of ionization events to obtain the results, with the same preparation of the wavefunction for each. What lies within The figure at the top of this article shows the team’s main result – the raw camera data for four measurements, where the hydrogen atoms were excited to states with zero, one, two and three nodes in the wavefunction for one of the parabolic coordinates. “If you look at the measured projections on the detector, you can easily recognize the nodes, and see their radial, ring-like structure,” says SAKURAI. Comparing resonant and non-resonant nodes Eye of the atom He also points out the “striking difference” between images recorded following resonant excitation and images recorded following non-resonant excitation – where a comparison is given between a measurement taken for one resonant and two non-resonant nodes. Some Images were taken after non-resonant ionization, while other images, the laser was tuned to a resonance with two nodes in the wavefunction. For the resonant ionization, the outermost ring extends significantly further radially, compared with the other two images – something that could be explained by a special kind of tunnelling effect taking place. SAKURAI says that the ultimate goal of the research was to study and visualize the hydrogen atom. Future experiments may look at how the atom would react within a magnetic field, study time-resolved electron dynamics, investigate 4D holographic interference microscopy and perhaps even observe molecules using photoionization microscopy. Helium under the microscope Currently, however, the researchers are studying and analysing a helium atom using photoionization microscopy, and a paper on this will be published in the coming months. “As there are two electrons in a helium atom, we are getting some very interesting information,” says SAKURAI. He says that while in some aspects the responses of the helium atom are very similar to that of hydrogen, there are also some major differences. “Although one of the helium electrons is very tightly bound to the nucleus, and the other one is very highly excited, we can see that the electrons know of each other’s existence and that they ‘talk to each other’,” says SAKURAI, explaining that this could allow the team to “see” entanglement of the electrons. The research is published in Physical Review Letters.

 

I photographed my copy of the book on my kitchen counter in Tucson, Arizona

 

In Schrödinger's cat experiment, a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source connected to a Geiger counter are placed in a sealed box. As illustrated, the objects are in a state of superposition: the cat is both alive and dead.

 

In quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment that illustrates a paradox of quantum superposition. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat may be considered simultaneously both alive and dead, while it is unobserved in a closed box, as a result of its fate being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur. This thought experiment was devised by physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935[1] in a discussion with Albert Einstein[2] to illustrate what Schrödinger saw as the problems of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.

 

In Schrödinger's original formulation, a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are placed in a sealed box. If an internal monitor (e.g. a Geiger counter) detects radioactivity (i.e. a single atom decaying), the flask is shattered, releasing the poison, which kills the cat. The Copenhagen interpretation implies that, after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. Yet, when one looks in the box, one sees the cat either alive or dead, not both alive and dead. This poses the question of when exactly quantum superposition ends and reality resolves into one possibility or the other.

 

Though originally a critique on the Copenhagen interpretation, Schrödinger's seemingly paradoxical thought experiment became part of the foundation of quantum mechanics. The scenario is often featured in theoretical discussions of the interpretations of quantum mechanics, particularly in situations involving the measurement problem. The experiment is not intended to be actually performed on a cat, but rather as an easily understandable illustration of the behavior of atoms. As a result, Schrödinger's cat has had enduring appeal in popular culture. Experiments at the atomic scale have been carried out, showing that very small objects may be superimposed; superimposing an object as large as a cat would pose considerable technical difficulties.

 

Fundamentally, the Schrödinger's cat experiment asks how long superpositions last and when (or whether) they collapse. Interpretations for resolving this question include that the cat is dead or alive when the box is opened (Copenhagen); that a conscious mind must observe the box (Von Neumann–Wigner); that upon observation, the universe branches into one universe where the cat is alive and another one where it is dead (many-worlds); that every object (such as the cat, and the box itself) is an observer, but superposition is relative depending on the observer (relational); that superposition never truly exists due to time-travelling waves (transactional); that merely observing the box either slows or accelerates the cat's death (quantum Zeno effect); among other theories that assert that the cat is dead or alive long before the box is opened. It is unclear which interpretation is correct; the underlying issue raised by Schrödinger's cat remains an unsolved problem in physics.

  

Origin And Motivation

Schrödinger intended his thought experiment as a discussion of the EPR article—named after its authors Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen—in 1935.[3][4] The EPR article highlighted the counterintuitive nature of quantum superpositions, in which a quantum system such as an atom or photon can exist as a combination of multiple states corresponding to different possible outcomes.

 

The prevailing theory, called the Copenhagen interpretation, says that a quantum system remains in superposition until it interacts with, or is observed by, the external world. When this happens, the superposition collapses into one or another of the possible definite states. The EPR experiment shows that a system with multiple particles separated by large distances can be in such a superposition. Schrödinger and Einstein exchanged letters about Einstein's EPR article, in the course of which Einstein pointed out that the state of an unstable keg of gunpowder will, after a while, contain a superposition of both exploded and unexploded states.[4]

 

To further illustrate, Schrödinger described how one could, in principle, create a superposition in a large-scale system by making it dependent on a quantum particle that was in a superposition. He proposed a scenario with a cat in a locked steel chamber, wherein the cat's life or death depended on the state of a radioactive atom, whether it had decayed and emitted radiation or not. According to Schrödinger, the Copenhagen interpretation implies that the cat remains both alive and dead until the state has been observed. Schrödinger did not wish to promote the idea of dead-and-live cats as a serious possibility; on the contrary, he intended the example to illustrate the absurdity of the existing view of quantum mechanics.[1]

 

Since Schrödinger's time, various interpretations of the mathematics of quantum mechanics have been advanced by physicists, some of which regard the "alive and dead" cat superposition as quite real, others do not.[5][6] Intended as a critique of the Copenhagen interpretation (the prevailing orthodoxy in 1935), the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment remains a touchstone for modern interpretations of quantum mechanics and can be used to illustrate and compare their strengths and weaknesses.[7]

  

Thought experiment

Schrödinger wrote: [1][8]

One can even set up quite ridiculous cases. A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): in a Geiger counter, there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small, that perhaps in the course of the hour one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges and through a relay releases a hammer that shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives. if meanwhile, no atom has decayed. The first atomic decay would have poisoned it. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts.

 

It is typical of these cases that an indeterminacy originally restricted to the atomic domain becomes transformed into macroscopic indeterminacy, which can then be resolved by direct observation. That prevents us from so naïvely accepting as valid a "blurred model" for representing reality. In itself, it would not embody anything unclear or contradictory. There is a difference between a shaky or out-of-focus photograph and a snapshot of clouds and fog banks.

 

Schrödinger's famous thought experiment poses the question, "When does a quantum system stop existing as a superposition of states and become one or the other?" (More technically, when does the actual quantum state stop being a non-trivial linear combination of states, each of which resembles different classical states, and instead begin to have a unique classical description?) If the cat survives, it remembers only being alive. But explanations of the EPR experiments that are consistent with standard microscopic quantum mechanics require that macroscopic objects, such as cats and notebooks, do not always have unique classical descriptions. The thought experiment illustrates this apparent paradox. Our intuition says that no observer can be in more than one state simultaneously—yet the cat, it seems from the thought experiment, can be in such a condition. Is the cat required to be an observer, or does its existence in a single well-defined classical state require another external observer? Each alternative seemed absurd to Einstein, who was impressed by the ability of the thought experiment to highlight these issues. In a letter to Schrödinger dated 1950, he wrote:

 

You are the only contemporary physicist, besides Laue, who sees that one cannot get around the assumption of reality, if only one is honest. Most of them simply do not see what sort of risky game they are playing with reality — reality as something independent of what is experimentally established. Their interpretation is, however, refuted most elegantly by your system of radioactive atom + amplifier + charge of gun powder + cat in a box, in which the psi-function of the system contains both the cat alive and blown to bits. Nobody really doubts that the presence or absence of the cat is something independent of the act of observation.[9]

 

Note that the charge of gunpowder is not mentioned in Schrödinger's setup, which uses a Geiger counter as an amplifier and hydrocyanic poison instead of gunpowder. The gunpowder had been mentioned in Einstein's original suggestion to Schrödinger 15 years before, and Einstein carried it forward to the present discussion.[4]

  

Interpretations

 

Since Schrödinger's time, other interpretations of quantum mechanics have been proposed that give different answers to the questions posed by Schrödinger's cat of how long superpositions last and when (or whether) they collapse.

 

Copenhagen interpretation

 

Main article: Copenhagen interpretation

A commonly held interpretation of quantum mechanics is the Copenhagen interpretation.[10] In the Copenhagen interpretation, a system stops being a superposition of states and becomes either one or the other when an observation takes place. This thought experiment makes apparent the fact that the nature of measurement, or observation, is not well-defined in this interpretation. The experiment can be interpreted to mean that while the box is closed, the system simultaneously exists in a superposition of the states "decayed nucleus/dead cat" and "undecayed nucleus/living cat" and that only when the box is opened and an observation performed does the wave function collapse into one of the two states.

  

Von Neumann interpretation

 

Main article: Von Neumann–Wigner interpretation

In 1932, John von Neumann described in his book Mathematical Foundations a pattern where the radioactive source is observed by a device, which itself is observed by another device and so on. It makes no difference in the predictions of quantum theory where along this chain of causal effects the superposition collapses.[11] This potentially infinite chain could be broken if the last device is replaced by a conscious observer. This solved the problem because it was claimed that an individual's consciousness cannot be multiple.[12] Neumann asserted that a conscious observer is necessary for collapse to one or the other (e.g., either a live cat or a dead cat) of the terms on the right-hand side of a wave function. This interpretation was later adopted by Eugene Wigner, who then rejected the interpretation in a thought experiment known as Wigner's friend.[13]

  

Wigner supposed that a friend opened the box and observed the cat without telling anyone. From Wigner's conscious perspective, the friend is now part of the wave function and has seen a live cat and seen a dead cat. To a third person's conscious perspective, Wigner himself becomes part of the wave function once Wigner learns the outcome from the friend. This could be extended indefinitely.[13]

  

Bohr's interpretation

 

One of the main scientists associated with the Copenhagen interpretation, Niels Bohr, offered an interpretation that is independent of a subjective observer-induced collapse of the wave function, or of measurement; instead, an "irreversible" or effectively irreversible process causes the decay of quantum coherence, which imparts the classical behavior of "observation" or "measurement".[14][15][16][17] Thus, Schrödinger's cat would be either dead or alive long before the box is observed.[18]

 

A resolution of the paradox is that the triggering of the Geiger counter counts as a measurement of the state of the radioactive substance. Because a measurement has already occurred deciding the state of the cat, the subsequent observation by a human records only what has already occurred.[19] Analysis of an actual experiment by Roger Carpenter and A. J. Anderson found that measurement alone (for example by a Geiger counter) is sufficient to collapse a quantum wave function before any human knows of the result.[20] The apparatus indicates one of two colors depending on the outcome. The human observer sees which color is indicated, but they don't consciously know which outcome the color represents. A second human, the one who set up the apparatus, is told of the color and becomes conscious of the outcome, and the box is opened to check if the outcome matches.[11] However, it is disputed whether merely observing the color counts as a conscious observation of the outcome.[21]

  

Many-worlds interpretation and consistent histories

 

Main article: Many-worlds interpretation

In 1957, Hugh Everett formulated the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, which does not single out observation as a special process. In the many-worlds interpretation, both alive and dead states of the cat persist after the box is opened, but are decoherent from each other. In other words, when the box is opened, the observer and the possibly dead cat split into an observer looking at a box with a dead cat and an observer looking at a box with a live cat. But since the dead and alive states are decoherent, there is no effective communication or interaction between them.

 

When opening the box, the observer becomes entangled with the cat, so "observer states" corresponding to the cat's being alive and dead are formed; each observer state is entangled, or linked, with the cat so that the observation of the cat's state and the cat's state correspond with each other. Quantum decoherence ensures that the different outcomes have no interaction with each other. The same mechanism of quantum decoherence is also important for the interpretation in terms of consistent histories. Only the "dead cat" or the "live cat" can be a part of a consistent history in this interpretation. Decoherence is generally considered to prevent simultaneous observation of multiple states.[22][23]

 

A variant of the Schrödinger's cat experiment, known as the quantum suicide machine, has been proposed by cosmologist Max Tegmark. It examines the Schrödinger's cat experiment from the point of view of the cat, and argues that by using this approach, one may be able to distinguish between the Copenhagen interpretation and many-worlds.

  

Ensemble interpretation

 

The ensemble interpretation states that superpositions are nothing but subensembles of a larger statistical ensemble. The state vector would not apply to individual cat experiments, but only to the statistics of many similarly prepared cat experiments. Proponents of this interpretation state that this makes the Schrödinger's cat paradox a trivial matter, or a non-issue.

  

This interpretation serves to discard the idea that a single physical system in quantum mechanics has a mathematical description that corresponds to it in any way.[24]

  

Relational interpretation

 

The relational interpretation makes no fundamental distinction between the human experimenter, the cat, and the apparatus or between animate and inanimate systems; all are quantum systems governed by the same rules of wavefunction evolution, and all may be considered "observers". But the relational interpretation allows that different observers can give different accounts of the same series of events, depending on the information they have about the system.[25] The cat can be considered an observer of the apparatus; meanwhile, the experimenter can be considered another observer of the system in the box (the cat plus the apparatus). Before the box is opened, the cat, by nature of its being alive or dead, has information about the state of the apparatus (the atom has either decayed or not decayed); but the experimenter does not have information about the state of the box contents. In this way, the two observers simultaneously have different accounts of the situation: To the cat, the wavefunction of the apparatus has appeared to "collapse"; to the experimenter, the contents of the box appear to be in superposition. Not until the box is opened, and both observers have the same information about what happened, do both system states appear to "collapse" into the same definite result, a cat that is either alive or dead.

  

Transactional interpretation

 

In the transactional interpretation, the apparatus emits an advanced wave backward in time, which combined with the wave that the source emits forward in time, forms a standing wave. The waves are seen as physically real, and the apparatus is considered an "observer". In the transactional interpretation, the collapse of the wavefunction is "atemporal" and occurs along the whole transaction between the source and the apparatus. The cat is never in superposition. Rather the cat is only in one state at any particular time, regardless of when the human experimenter looks in the box. The transactional interpretation resolves this quantum paradox.[26]

  

Zeno effects

 

The Zeno effect is known to cause delays to any changes from the initial state.

 

On the other hand, the anti-Zeno effect accelerates the changes. For example, if you peek a look into the cat box frequently you may either cause delays to the fateful choice or, conversely, accelerate it. Both the Zeno effect and the anti-Zeno effect are real and known to happen to real atoms. The quantum system being measured must be strongly coupled to the surrounding environment (in this case to the apparatus, the experiment room ... etc.) in order to obtain more accurate information. But while there is no information passed to the outside world, it is considered to be a quasi-measurement, but as soon as the information about the cat's well-being is passed on to the outside world (by peeking into the box) quasi-measurement turns into measurement. Quasi-measurements, like measurements, cause the Zeno effects.[27]

Zeno effects teach us that even without peeking into the box, the death of the cat would have been delayed or accelerated anyway due to its environment.

  

Objective collapse theories

 

According to objective collapse theories, superpositions are destroyed spontaneously (irrespective of external observation) when some objective physical threshold (of time, mass, temperature, irreversibility, etc.) is reached. Thus, the cat would be expected to have settled into a definite state long before the box is opened. This could loosely be phrased as "the cat observes itself" or "the environment observes the cat".

 

Objective collapse theories require a modification of standard quantum mechanics to allow superpositions to be destroyed by the process of time evolution.[28] These theories could ideally be tested by creating mesoscopic superposition states in the experiment. For instance, energy cat states has been proposed as a precise detector of the quantum gravity related energy decoherence models.[29]

  

Applications and tests

 

Schrödinger's cat quantum superposition of states and effect of the environment through decoherence

The experiment as described is a purely theoretical one, and the machine proposed is not known to have been constructed. However, successful experiments involving similar principles, e.g. superpositions of relatively large (by the standards of quantum physics) objects have been performed.[30][better source needed] These experiments do not show that a cat-sized object can be superposed, but the known upper limit on "cat states" has been pushed upwards by them. In many cases the state is short-lived, even when cooled to near absolute zero.

 

A "cat state" has been achieved with photons.[31]

A beryllium ion has been trapped in a superposed state.[32]

An experiment involving a superconducting quantum interference device ("SQUID") has been linked to the theme of the thought experiment: "The superposition state does not correspond to a billion electrons flowing one way and a billion others flowing the other way. Superconducting electrons move en masse. All the superconducting electrons in the SQUID flow both ways around the loop at once when they are in the Schrödinger's cat state."[33]

A piezoelectric "tuning fork" has been constructed, which can be placed into a superposition of vibrating and non-vibrating states. The resonator comprises about 10 trillion atoms.[34]

An experiment involving a flu virus has been proposed.[35]

An experiment involving a bacterium and an electromechanical oscillator has been proposed.[36]

In quantum computing the phrase "cat state" sometimes refers to the GHZ state, wherein several qubits are in an equal superposition of all being 0 and all being 1; e.g.,

  

|\psi \rangle ={\frac {1}{\sqrt {2}}}{\bigg (}|00\ldots 0\rangle +|11\ldots 1\rangle {\bigg )}.

According to at least one proposal, it may be possible to determine the state of the cat before observing it.[37][38]

  

Extensions

 

Prominent physicists have gone so far as to suggest that astronomers observing dark energy in the universe in 1998 may have "reduced its life expectancy" through a pseudo-Schrödinger's cat scenario, although this is a controversial viewpoint.[39][40]

  

In August 2020, physicists presented studies involving interpretations of quantum mechanics that are related to the Schrödinger's cat and Wigner's friend paradoxes, resulting in conclusions that challenge seemingly established assumptions about reality.[41][42][43]

  

See also

 

iconPhysics portal

Basis function

Complementarity (physics)

Double-slit experiment

Elitzur–Vaidman bomb tester

Heisenberg cut

Modal realism

Observer effect (physics)

Schroedinbug

Schrödinger's cat in popular culture

References

  

^ a b c Schrödinger, Erwin (November 1935). "Die gegenwärtige Situation in der Quantenmechanik (The present situation in quantum mechanics)". Naturwissenschaften. 23 (48): 807–812. Bibcode:1935NW.....23..807S. doi:10.1007/BF01491891. S2CID 206795705.none

Fine, Arthur. "The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Argument in Quantum Theory". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 11 June 2020.none

Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete? Archived 2006-02-08 at the Wayback Machine A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, and N. Rosen, Phys. Rev. 47, 777 (1935)

^ a b c Fine, Arthur (2017). "The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Argument in Quantum Theory". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. Retrieved 11 April 2021.none

Polkinghorne, J. C. (1985). The Quantum World. Princeton University Press. p. 67. ISBN 0691023883. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19.none

Tetlow, Philip (2012). Understanding Information and Computation: From Einstein to Web Science. Gower Publishing, Ltd. p. 321. ISBN 978-1409440406. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19.none

Lazarou, Dimitris (2007). "Interpretation of quantum theory - An overview". arXiv:0712.3466 [quant-ph].none

Trimmer, John D. (1980). "The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics: A Translation of Schrödinger's "Cat Paradox" Paper". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 124 (5): 323–338. JSTOR 986572.none Reproduced with some inaccuracies here: Schrödinger: "The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics." 5. Are the Variables Really Blurred?

Maxwell, Nicholas (1 January 1993). "Induction and Scientific Realism: Einstein versus van Fraassen Part Three: Einstein, Aim-Oriented Empiricism and the Discovery of Special and General Relativity". The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 44 (2): 275–305. doi:10.1093/bjps/44.2.275. JSTOR 687649.none

Wimmel, Hermann (1992). Quantum physics & observed reality: a critical interpretation of quantum mechanics. World Scientific. p. 2. ISBN 978-981-02-1010-6. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2011.none

^ a b Hobson, Art (2017). Tales of the Quantum: Understanding Physics' Most Fundamental Theory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 200–202. ISBN 9780190679637. Retrieved April 8, 2022.none

Omnès, Roland (1999). Understanding Quantum Mechanics. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 60–62. ISBN 0-691-00435-8. Retrieved April 8, 2022.none

^ a b Levin, Frank S. (2017). Surfing the Quantum World. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 229–232. ISBN 978-0-19-880827-5. Retrieved April 8, 2022.none

John Bell (1990). "Against 'measurement'". Physics World. 3 (8): 33–41. doi:10.1088/2058-7058/3/8/26.none

Niels Bohr (1985) [May 16, 1947]. Jørgen Kalckar (ed.). Foundations of Quantum Physics I (1926-1932). Niels Bohr: Collected Works. Vol. 6. pp. 451–454.none

Stig Stenholm (1983). "To fathom space and time". In Pierre Meystre (ed.). Quantum Optics, Experimental Gravitation, and Measurement Theory. Plenum Press. p. 121. The role of irreversibility in the theory of measurement has been emphasized by many. Only this way can a permanent record be obtained. The fact that separate pointer positions must be of the asymptotic nature usually associated with irreversibility has been utilized in the measurement theory of Daneri, Loinger and Prosperi (1962). It has been accepted as a formal representation of Bohr's ideas by Rosenfeld (1966).none

Fritz Haake (April 1, 1993). "Classical motion of meter variables in the quantum theory of measurement". Physical Review A. 47 (4): 2506–2517. Bibcode:1993PhRvA..47.2506H. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.47.2506. PMID 9909217.none

Faye, J (2008-01-24). "Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University. Retrieved 2010-09-19.none

Puri, Ravinder R. (2017). Non-Relativistic Quantum Mechanics. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-107-16436-9. Retrieved April 8, 2022.none

Carpenter RHS, Anderson AJ (2006). "The death of Schrödinger's cat and of consciousness-based wave-function collapse" (PDF). Annales de la Fondation Louis de Broglie. 31 (1): 45–52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2010-09-10.none

Okón E, Sebastián MA (2016). "How to Back up or Refute Quantum Theories of Consciousness". Mind and Matter. 14 (1): 25–49.none

Zurek, Wojciech H. (2003). "Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical". Reviews of Modern Physics. 75 (3): 715. arXiv:quant-ph/0105127. Bibcode:2003RvMP...75..715Z. doi:10.1103/revmodphys.75.715. S2CID 14759237.none

Wojciech H. Zurek, "Decoherence and the transition from quantum to classical", Physics Today, 44, pp. 36–44 (1991)

Smolin, Lee (October 2012). "A real ensemble interpretation of quantum mechanics". Foundations of Physics. 42 (10): 1239–1261. arXiv:1104.2822. Bibcode:2012FoPh...42.1239S. doi:10.1007/s10701-012-9666-4. ISSN 0015-9018. S2CID 118505566.none

Rovelli, Carlo (1996). "Relational Quantum Mechanics". International Journal of Theoretical Physics. 35 (8): 1637–1678. arXiv:quant-ph/9609002. Bibcode:1996IJTP...35.1637R. doi:10.1007/BF02302261. S2CID 16325959.none

Cramer, John G. (July 1986). The transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics. Vol. 58. Reviews of Modern Physics. pp. 647–685.none

"How the quantum Zeno effect impacts Schrodinger's cat". phys.org. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.none

Okon, Elias; Sudarsky, Daniel (2014-02-01). "Benefits of Objective Collapse Models for Cosmology and Quantum Gravity". Foundations of Physics. 44 (2): 114–143. arXiv:1309.1730. Bibcode:2014FoPh...44..114O. doi:10.1007/s10701-014-9772-6. ISSN 1572-9516. S2CID 67831520.none

Khazali, Mohammadsadegh; Lau, Hon Wai; Humeniuk, Adam; Simon, Christoph (2016-08-11). "Large energy superpositions via Rydberg dressing". Physical Review A. 94 (2): 023408. arXiv:1509.01303. Bibcode:2016PhRvA..94b3408K. doi:10.1103/physreva.94.023408. ISSN 2469-9926. S2CID 118364289.none

"What is the world's biggest Schrodinger cat?". stackexchange.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-08.none

"Schrödinger's Cat Now Made Of Light". www.science20.com. 27 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012.none

Monroe, C.; Meekhof, D. M.; King, B. E.; Wineland, D. J. (1996-05-24). "A "Schrödinger's cat" Superposition State of an Atom". Science. 272 (5265): 1131–1136. Bibcode:1996Sci...272.1131M. doi:10.1126/science.272.5265.1131. PMID 8662445. S2CID 2311821.none

"Physics World: Schrödinger's cat comes into view". 5 July 2000.none

Scientific American : Macro-Weirdness: "Quantum Microphone" Puts Naked-Eye Object in 2 Places at Once: A new device tests the limits of Schrödinger's cat Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine

Romero-Isart, O.; Juan, M. L.; Quidant, R.; Cirac, J. I. (2010). "Toward Quantum Superposition of Living Organisms". New Journal of Physics. 12 (3): 033015. arXiv:0909.1469. Bibcode:2010NJPh...12c3015R. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/12/3/033015. S2CID 59151724.none

"Could 'Schrödinger's bacterium' be placed in a quantum superposition?". physicsworld.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-30.none

Najjar, Dana (7 November 2019). "Physicists Can Finally Peek at Schrödinger's Cat Without Killing It Forever". Live Science. Retrieved 7 November 2019.none

Patekar, Kartik; Hofmann, Holger F. (2019). "The role of system–meter entanglement in controlling the resolution and decoherence of quantum measurements". New Journal of Physics. 21 (10): 103006. arXiv:1905.09978. Bibcode:2019NJPh...21j3006P. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/ab4451.none

Chown, Marcus (2007-11-22). "Has observing the universe hastened its end?". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2007-11-25.none

Krauss, Lawrence M.; James Dent (April 30, 2008). "Late Time Behavior of False Vacuum Decay: Possible Implications for Cosmology and Metastable Inflating States". Phys. Rev. Lett. US. 100 (17): 171301. arXiv:0711.1821. Bibcode:2008PhRvL.100q1301K. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.171301. PMID 18518269. S2CID 30028648.none

Merali, Zeeya (17 August 2020). "This Twist on Schrödinger's Cat Paradox Has Major Implications for Quantum Theory - A laboratory demonstration of the classic "Wigner's friend" thought experiment could overturn cherished assumptions about reality". Scientific American. Retrieved 17 August 2020.none

Musser, George (17 August 2020). "Quantum paradox points to shaky foundations of reality". Science Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2020.none

Bong, Kok-Wei; et al. (17 August 2020). "A strong no-go theorem on the Wigner's friend paradox". Nature Physics. 27 (12): 1199–1205. arXiv:1907.05607. Bibcode:2020NatPh..16.1199B. doi:10.1038/s41567-020-0990-x.none

Further reading

  

Einstein, Albert; Podolsky, Boris; Rosen, Nathan (15 May 1935). "Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?". Physical Review. 47 (10): 777–780. Bibcode:1935PhRv...47..777E. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.47.777.none

Leggett, Tony (August 2000). "New Life for Schrödinger's Cat" (PDF). Physics World. pp. 23–24. Retrieved 28 February 2020.none An article on experiments with "cat state" superpositions in superconducting rings, in which the electrons go around the ring in two directions simultaneously.

Trimmer, John D. (1980). "The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics: A Translation of Schrödinger's "Cat Paradox" Paper". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 124 (5): 323–338. JSTOR 986572.none(registration required)

Yam, Phillip (October 9, 2012). "Bringing Schrödinger's Cat to Life". Scientific American. Retrieved 28 February 2020. A description of investigations of quantum "cat states" and wave function collapse by Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland, for which they won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Kalmbach, Gudrun (1983). Orthomodular Lattices. Academic Press.

Computer generated image of a quantum-mechanical wave function

Finally a long mystery could be solved. Schrödinger's cat is alive and well. We are all delighted.

ATOMIC COOKIES!

 

(Yes, they're really made of atoms.)

 

These are spritz cookies made with custom DIY spritz cookie plates, to show the shapes of the electron probability distributions of hydrogenic atoms in low-lying quantum states. :D

 

Read more about this project here.

Abstract (perhaps to the point of being obtuse) ; The Unified Theory written in stone in The Black Rock Desert -- off in the Distance as if it were a nub of the end a big long metallic stick in the form a Meteorite burped by a far off star sticks sunk deep into the mud of the Desert. Looking as it hit at above super sonic speed to produce a lake and a ice age as described below and above in the form of a photo essay with --> 'roll over' notes to myself and the Universe that are for the personal and collective consideration as something that attempts to be the tip of the spear of mainstream science as I have come to understand and address a few Theoretical Physics long standing riddles with some possible solutions that here now I shall attempt to explain.

 

That the chain of material logic flows and makes possible the Theoretical Physics of climate and the quantum mechanics of 'solar weather' by means of understanding the 'flash-bang' waters born of the atomic building blocks and 'Dark Matter' and Energy of the nuclear material of Bacteria which alone produces the vital combustion gas of N2O, which fuel the combustion cycle of Energy that stems from that 'chain reaction' as played out over economic history as expressed from present time backwards to the 'Dawn of The Age of Man', as you can see and imagine from a metaphorical take on all super large monolithic rocks around the world as a 'commonality of likeness', starting to fill the picture and form a familiar 'pattern recognition' to my mind with a explanation offered to yours of the form and function of this organic synchronous random dynamic process of the Operating System of the Universe.

 

Not exactly the story of this photo -- directly;

Which looks like it landed exactly like ( youtu.be/ypEaGQb6dJk 2001 Dawn of Man ) (slight return)-; to my eye -- from the lower left blowing off the top of the mountain, w/ the black chunk, and hunk of another identical black mass on a plane, to the present place/place/water and once upon a TIME on the planet: hitting the reset on The Universal Matter Mixer Theory writ large. JUST PERHAPS this is the anywhere between 200,000 and (some do argue) 4,ooo year old (reprocessed stone) that is the Biblical/Religious-starting building blocks for a en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_fission

via the via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperdeformation + True Bose Einstein Condensate System PHASE 3 = method of water formation and yields great gobs of "hot"/fissile rocks hitting the atmosphere at more that twice the 'air space' at the speed of the ; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_X-15 (when the atmospheres and gravity of ours and the gas giants fails to stop the rain of cosmic crud and feedback withe the Sun results in the stirring the mass of the big 'ol sun beams/solar flares from all over the cosmos, and or (key concept cosmic) 'rays' not unlike and or just like your brain cells processing information c/o the force of a gamma based blast across the synapse via the 'flash bang' of (see); www.sciencenews.org/view/access/id/68594/title/rc_TGF_Sim... propelled by the thinking and doing power of a huge yellow "great gobs of gamma" potatoes fried in bacon, multiple grapefruit, Hunter Thompson grade breakfast, w/ buckets of coffee w/ heavy cream (as so much sunshine harvested by the cow for use in my coffee and beyond)-; ( www.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/health/organic-milk-high-in-he... ), and grapefruit juice, as examples that make your own water. Not to mention wind your 'spring' so as to effect ones relative intensity; per my theory of get up and go -- kick starting one brain at a 'time' with a kick in the consciousness that will last all day/life time of wisdom -- such that one has consumed a great herd of diverse calories; in one sitting, and it is of such stuff that eating again from this trough on any given day or that, will be optional -- but I digress, while I ponder my cook book of the Universe in perpetual motion as a work we are witness and participant in the progress process of nonstop evolution run on game theory, the critical mass as defined by ones ability to see signal in the noise and pursue the data with abstract intuitive thought over vast periods of space, subject matter, and, time.

  

This being the tip of the metaphorical iceberg on my insight; into the macro and micro of the Atomic workings of the American West as written in the rock, and the world from mountain to every mole hill, from the ever present Sun and back again as a cycle of atomic matter in motion that was my last 50 odd years pushed through the mass research and 'thought project' of the past few years in a quest to decipher the Operating System of the 'nature of Nature' as a full time 'bare knuckles' intellectual boots and wheels on the ground, with head firmly in the clouds of (the latest and greatest scientific) data mines, digging hard between my ears 'in search of' Big Answers to big Questions that might key a explanation for the mushrooms role in the Universe, and their spread-- not unlike the the wave of folks who 'walked this way' from Asia to North America and beyond, overland; 12,000, 9000, 5000, 3000 years ago in successive waves and then started sailing in a mixing of people, materials and their science. It science and problem solving by means the method

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hairy_Audacious_Goal applied technology as connecting the dots and long 'shot making' skills.

But I digress to comment and attempt to better understand my breakfast food which besides being bacon, contains 'cultural code' as a tasty material message by means a memo from; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Little_Pigs and perhaps also a nugget of wisdom from the folk tale "Chicken Little" had issues with Nature and the 'falling sky' problem of rocks coming down from 12 miles high, and or further after being hurled to earth in great mountain forming blasts of atomic matter with such 'relative' magnitude that mountains, lakes, and rives are made from the result-- of a process as 'old as the hills', where the 'Bible Belt' is threaded through the loops of the metaphorical wells of the waters of the (coincidental?) farthest advance of the last big glaciers.

 

Because and given;

"A problem well stated is a problem half solved."

Charles Kettering

en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Kettering

 

Therefore, half my quest has been to find this problem broken down into well stated elements so as to fine tune my answer as being hyper-tuned with precision to these phased queries in the field so as to be understood of Science in general and Theoretical Physics in particular by means of focusing this line of insight over the years as a 'problem set' worked and 'the work shown' -- 'so as to be understood', and hopefully solving; the 'problem' from as many angles as professionally and personally possible from the vantage point of a early retirement (maximum long shot attempt leveraging a insight) from selling industrial and lab mixing machinery as well as refractometers and polarimeters so as to be as be able to understand what bends the light of different substance so a to have a bit of insight into at once the micro and macro of the world economy, but that of Nature.

 

IF the chain of logic that follows the well put question to the logical conclusion, given the available data points - connected to agree with reality every single time, every single place, will be pleased if proven not incorrect in their logical conclusions realized as the atomic expansive reality of the Cosmos for all intents and purposes being organic and, slightly self conscious.

 

** See 'Speed of Lights Limits'; flic.kr/p/8zt3aQ for the 'Trial of Bacteria as Dark Matter and the limiter of light speed' due to its growth factor as well as being the 'glue' of the the Universe c/o quark the magic of quark sharing technology of N20 combustion gas locked in place and nitrogen fixed for use by the multiple flavors of Bacteria doing their light making magic by means of being atomic substance of the 'foam of space' that make the transmission of sight and sound possible.

 

In light of the above 'data stack''s expansive 'barn yard' logic possibly holding water such that this analysis is the figurative 'manure' of the organic bacterial process that powers -- the farm -- right down the line to operate the biochemical werks and therefore the math of astrophysics, geology, biology as it pertains to Dark Matter and Energy being 'your huckleberry' as a function of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria nuclear core expanding as pair complimentary quarks to run the (C)NO chain of combustion and thereby expansion at the Cosmological Constant, naturally - somehow and way to explain down to the last breath of the supply chain over space and time of the above and below noted dynamic pile of gas, and biomass, iso a plausible explanation of how the atomic cookie is formed and crumbles visa vie the dynamic supply of; "The Mystery of Earth’s Oxygen" [now hopefully explained as the Dark Material and Energy of the atomic core of microbiological biomass] as the seeds planted by the light of the Sun by means the water and 'foam of space' as conveyed by the Higgs machinery encased in light such that en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxygenation_Event was fait accompli by dint by being hit by the gearbox of ingredients of the primordial soup stock of the materials of a expanding Universe, such that it is now perhaps possible to unravel the www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/science/earths-oxygen-a-myster... .

 

Bringing the Oceans into Tune as the Mechanism/Repository of Water Production with the Sun and the Role of the Poles and Landmass in Condensation as the Link in the Chain of Interstellar bodies in moving atoms over Time and Space™ as so much "Stormy Weather", and or Liquid Sunshine™, micro and macro fluids in the mix of the cool drinks of 'the tears of the Sun' by means the ice and salt water consumed from the quantum mechanics of;

'If, then, therefore, hence, consequently, ; machineslikeus.com/news/global-warming-may-give-oceans-so...

"Global warming may give oceans the ‘sound’ of the cretaceous"

Well -- 'then' --> the oceans are I deduce are (metaphorical actual tubes) ''tubular' in "God Smack" literal terms, as in conjure a thought experimental grande on the magnitude of the seven seas being Gods Own personal set of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolytic_cell (s) functioning over time and space (E.g. there maybe ice on Mercury) to create in the process a Earth to Sun grade monster en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_tube atomic feedback loop w/ the Polar ice Caps functioning as a en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor of the current of the Sea, Land, and, Light of the Sun then you can imagine and envisage how I perceive the article and the recent Climate Science to suggest the seven seas as so many 'tubes' which have starting (once again) to power up and run 'hot' (as they do like atomic clockwork) in a giant radio receivers in historic dynamic a rotary evaporative process that runs from time immemorial with every the solar system sun whereby the waters serve as a 'radio receiver' to make and break the hydrogen bond via the power of (the constituent parts of) sunlight to run the C/N/O cycles and give life.

 

One striking thing about Earth is the seeming 'tipping pointyousity' of the 'third rock from the sun' boiling and freezing over from time to time in a clockwork reset of getting very wet and slightly larger in the process of getting hit by its own sun, and or another mass of something beyond the story in stone with a memo on historic sea levels E.g. to see the story blasted thrice in a vast stone for good measure: www.flickr.com/photos/tremain_calm/5000324780 for all to read, heed, and am, just the messenger that; blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2016/07/06/why-toxic-c... .

  

As for the question of why there is a layer of boron to be found on the seafloor; here now, I'd like to complete the puzzle under the banner of: Radical Relativity by offer a resolution to that particular problem by explaining -- (my fervent hope somehow) -- such that the Micro and the Macro come full circle so to speak in the form of Earth in a perfect example of the big picture of global 'nature state' of a element acting a membrane on the sea floor thereby become in effect Gods own cyclotron spinning up the Planet Earth and Atmosphere into a epic oceanic solar/stellar scale mass spectrometer which accounts for the lay of the solar and periodic tablature, which manufactures a bill of materials of the landscape such that the Universe comes -- ('demi-big banging' with meteoric impacts) on Earths mantle on a regular basis resulting in major and minor Ice Ages, along with our water supply by means fission process that unlocks and stores the hydrogen bond as water as I observe and Science seems to be discovering, and concurring -- subject to correction by facts and further observations: on full display.

 

Perhaps I am going out on a (Theoretical Physical) limb (that makes theoretical limbs, ["with a {conceptual} old box of matches and a gasoline can"] by observing out loud, that if you consider once upon a line of research (I seem to have stumble onto the exact same rock pile from the geologic end and run it down from the Physics side until I ran into the same neighborhood), twice in the span of a few weeks, when I learn that); "Alvarez proved [the reverse] by using his knowledge of the details of the 60-inch cyclotron operation. He tuned the machine to accelerate doubly-ionized 3He nuclei and was able to get a beam of accelerated ions, thus using the cyclotron as a kind of super mass spectrometer. As the accelerated helium came from deep gas wells where it had been for millions of years, the 3He component had to be stable. Afterwards Alvarez produced 3H using the cyclotron and the 2H + 2H reaction and measured the lifetime of the radioactive 3H.[3]

In 1938, again using his knowledge of the cyclotron and inventing what are now known as time-of-flight techniques, Alvarez created a mono-energetic beam of thermal neutrons. With this he began a long series of experiments, collaborating with Felix Bloch, to measure the magnetic moment of the neutron. Their result of μ0 = 1.93±0.02 μN,[citation needed] published in 1940, was a major advance over earlier work. Bloch continued with experimental work in an effort to measure the magnetic moment of the proton. His later work in what came to be called nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) won him the 1968 Nobel Prize.

The Tizard mission to the United States in 1940 demonstrated to leading American scientists the successful application of the cavity magnetron to produce short wavelength pulsed radar. The US National Defense Research Committee, established only months earlier by President Franklin Roosevelt, created a central national laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the purpose of developing military applications of microwave radar. Lawrence immediately recruited his best "cyclotroneers", among them Alvarez, for this new laboratory, called the Radiation Laboratory. "

Much respect and admiration to the late great Nobel laureate in physics 1968

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Walter_Alvarez

 

Reasoning 'between the lines' of research and history is your set of answers, to go with these last thoughts and observations regarding what is cooking in the Oceans, and what why and how the Earth got blasted to a moonscape long before man walked this place, which leads me to remark that man did not cause the first 5-7 great mass extinctions and therefor should not be therefore logically the author of his own. If 'knowledge is power', and multiple civilizations of gone by the wayside due to climate, perhaps humanity can read the 'tea leaves' in 'the rising tide' and avoid going under the 'waves', as it were.

 

Given, the news that climate shifts in a 'geologic instant', which should not come as news looking around the American West; phys.org/news/2013-10-climate-geological-instant.html#ajTabs - "New finding shows climate change can happen in a geological instant"

 

If the question was something about inevitability and cause of global en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurement_in_quantum_mechanics#Wa... because the oceans are getting more acidic resulting in some sort of 'impact' or event resulting in a very sharp temporary sea level rise -- indeed there is a relation to this bunches research, core thinking that led to their prize which would account for the shift in the content of the boron on the seafloor would tend to suggest the macro version of the theory of what was once again to the www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1977/

for calling that shot and the committee for seeing the work for what it was so we can find it again in the needles in the haystack of data points; and applaud the above cited sharp minds for their nifty work on the problem of the ages; analyzed and applied where "The electric properties of crystals are described by the so-called band theory which gives a classification with respect to the conductivity in metals, semiconductors, and insulators. " which to my mind cover the Sea floor as a well vented surface in the macro vs. this description in the micro -- reconciled as part of the Quantum Dynamic.

 

From the department of wild guess work connecting the possible dots w/ the power of abstract intuitive logic, and the freedom of zero to loose, and showing the tip of the iceberg of my homework in the form of the twisted thought process that goes with this train of thought that is by its nature historically carbonated/dated; spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/environment/japanese-....

 

For further reading/ recent set of data points on this subject see www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-global-warmi...

 

Mentioning that the core of my thinking has been confirmed by at long last getting a 'flying start' on my reading my copy of: www.amazon.com/Falling-Sky-Science-History-Meteorites/dp/...

which seems to be exactly the book I had anticipated researching and writing only to be blessed by such a work being found on a bookstore shelf already written and deeply researched with a pile of facts that back my notions as written clearly by a recognized 'person of Science' -- such that if my multiple year research premise is based on facts accepted agreed upon and know; not those from left field from a total quack.

 

A 'Multiple Meteorite as mixer Thesis' which I have been developing, over the years - seeking to link the data points of Earth Science, with a hypothesis that moves Theoretical Physics forward along the lines of research of the eminent Scientist and author and Ted Neild whose book "The Falling Sky" confirms as my thinking as correct as to its most elemental and grasp of and its explanations the mechanics, and magnitude of the workings of the Universe as part of a vast system which I also describe and, am attempting to reconcile the whole into a coherent working model that runs like atomic clockwork from Suns to planets and back and then squares with all the known laws to produce a better understanding of the nature of nature than we presently have so as to comprehend fully where sea levels are headed, due to their historical patterns and 'the nature of the beast', I offer my 'data points' and analysis for the 'group minds' considered wisdom and analysis and collective consideration along with the follow bits of the last of this 'train of thought' as it occurs to me as I process the information in this first to admittedly is a rambler of a first 'vomit' draft of *dynamic* (pre/post printing press world of 'hit' save/send) personal publication. Pardon my prose -- if you got this far.

  

File this as a couple of pieces in the puzzle attempting to see the very 'big picture' in those pieces of the group in the process of figuring out human existence as it pertains to our place in the Universe as reflected in Theoretical Physics and Cosmology and one persons attempt to be a singular 'voices in the crowd', that make up; E.g.; www.wired.com/opinion/2013/09/how-successful-networks-nur... as this that persons 'work in progress'.

Thanks for reading - this far.

Please to consider the following notes for further granularity on the story of climate, if you are interested, and still with me.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

Tellus (latin) "Goddess of the Earth"

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2014 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

Copyright © 2013 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.