Master Reflexion 2015
Nienke Bodenheim
www.nienke-bodenheim.com
The following is a scientific contemplation to the miscellaneous drawings I have made in the form of a dialogue with physicist and friend Elsa Callini, who did her PhD in physics at the University of Bologna. She currently works at EPFL, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Sion (CH) and is an expert in optical spectroscopy. The dialogue is divided into 5 parts and each part begins with a drawing and
a
poem,
which
I
have
created
separately;
nevertheless,
in
correspondence with each other. In retrospect I see my work appear in natural phenomena, which is indicated in the first poem of each section in the dialogue.
Elsa Callini has responded to this with scientific theory by
means of intuition, then clarified with a graph. The second poem and theoretical piece in each section is a response to a verbal diagnose in dialogue of each first part.
This means that each
section is conducted with the same amount of spontaneous impulse on either side of the dialogue and freedom to express or not to express. The chief constituent in my work is the relevance of a particular shape and how shapes relate to one another. They are shapes that contradict each other in size, breaking the rules of composition due to its placement and juxtaposition, creating tension through imbalance, which leads to optic movement. Science has progressively fascinated me throughout the years. There is a strange interplay of how the universe is constructed and how its physical makeup is echoed in measurements and structure.
For instance the
way the planets orbit around stars is mirrored by the way the electrons orbit around the nucleus in the atom. Physics aspires to answer numerous fundamental questions such as: What is matter made from? What is smaller than
sub-particles
and
bigger
than
galaxies?
What
is
the
limit
to
measurement? What occurs when particles randomly move in the eye of the Brownian-Motion?
What
is
the
interaction
among
particles,
atoms
and
molecules? Is there a unique force or energy that can explain all the natural phenomena? The particular utilization of placement and size is essential in my work and these elements can be traced back to science. This is an attempt to reflect and resonate space and movement in visual physics, playing with the gravitational forces, to create comical tension.
Part 1
Mammoth Mother ship In which contorted veins rip and spew inward Floating Flecks full of fire As many other spheres Tire in her gravitational pull A tenebrous eye lies in her bosom Devouring spies that dare to come near Whereupon she eats and swallows herself My thoughts vanish in the vacuum of her secrecy
DARK MATTER
Dark
matter
is
a
hypothesized
form
of
matter
that
does
not
emit
electromagnetic radiation. The existence of dark matter is postulated to explain physical phenomena and effects that can be understood as the result of the interaction of stars and galaxies with another massive entity. Its existence
is
therefore
inferred
from
gravitational
effects
matter.
http://physics.about.com/od/glossary/g/darkmatter.htm http://lux.brown.edu/LUX_dark_matter/Experiment.html http://www.amazon.com/Particle-Physics-Dark-Matter-Energy/dp/1845494776
on
visible
https://str.llnl.gov/str/Sep07/Craig.html
Not only the mind of a scientist is boggled For this abstruse substance has not been obtained Merely caressed and famed by light deflected This intangible, ghost-like glue Is giving its weight to the world, Like an altruistic goo It holds it all together In this matter we remain For it to enter the atom in its center This to gain In dubitable grasp
BLACK HOLE
A
black
hole
is
an
agglomerate
of
matter,
so
densely
packed
that
its
gravitational field does not allow light to escape. As every mass, black holes influence the surrounding entities. It is therefore possible to study such objects indirectly, by measuring the alterations induced on neighbors’ masses.
http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes/
Part 2
Boneless thing Ballooning Contracting Swimming Quest Stretched tentacles Rubbing Other membrane Almost merging Quaver Splitting half Pressed In liquid immersed Quaff
MEMBRANE FOR WATER SPLITTING
A membrane is a thin layer of permeable material, natural or synthetic. When used in a device where chemical reactions take place (as for instance the split of the water molecule), the membrane maintains separated the different phases or products of the reaction.
http://nsl.caltech.edu/research:membrane http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/ebook/978-1-84973-647-3#!divbookcontent
http://m.blog.daum.net/changjotechno/2863733
Joined in molecular matrimony The lovers are brutally set part Severed by a membrane, saturated in solution Then electrocuted Whereupon one is carefully contained to redeem its verve The other released in mid air If somehow they would reunite again It would be death through combustion
AMOEBA
Amoebas are among the simplest living beings. They are mono-cells entities, consisting of a nucleus and cytoplasm. They have sub millimeters dimensions and undefined shapes.
Â
http://www.biology-resources.com/amoeba-01.html
Part 3
Light splinters dispersing, Jabbing into the epidermis of the water Clotting in the middle To make a shape That buoyantly and perpetually Changes and Rearranges
While sparkles drift And crystals shift,
Meander and stray
With which the ray urges to bewilder
COALESCENCE
With coalescence it is possible to define the phenomenon in which different entities are merged together to form a single resulting one. Typically this happens
for
droplets
in
solutions,
but
the
same
is
applicable
for
nanoparticles or bubbles. The driving force is normally the minimization of the surface area, which translates into minimization of surface energy. Despite
the
necessity
of
overcoming
an
activation
barrier,
external
conditions might make this process energetically favorable.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/coalescence http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/surfaces/scc/scat1_5.htm http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/surfaces/scc/scat1_6.htm Breakage and Coalescence in Dispersed Phase Systems, K. J. Valentas and N. R. Amundson, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fundamentals 1966 5 (4), 533-542, DOI: 10.1021/i160020a018
http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/show/Dynamics-of-Emulsion-Coalescence.htm
A swollen charismatic bubble While it lies the lips so subtle
Flushing wetness within it holds Whispering lover of the naked folds
Desolate in beatific rain This creation of water – in it they chain
REFRACTING INDEX
When light propagates from a source to a detector, it traverses different media.
Its
speed,
which
is
max
in
vacuum,
differs
according
to
the
different materials through which the light passes. Since it is possible to represent the speed of light as a vector with a certain direction, versus and
length,
the
interface
between
different
media
has
the
effect
of
changing the speed of light vector. This is at the origin of the optical effect of bent stick partially immersed in water.
http://physics.info/refraction/
Part 4
A Moisture Mold A Suspended Tank A Massive Mass of Droplets In Gradual Transfiguration A Voluminous Creature In Supreme Saturation Spreading Clusters Then the Departure of Particles A Multitude of Luminous Dots Descend Until the shape no more Is
SCINTILLATOR
A scintillator is a detector for ionizing radiation. It produces light, when hit
by
an
intensity
incident and
the
radiation. energy
of
It
is
the
therefore incident
a
method
radiation
accurately.
http://pdg.lbl.gov/2011/reviews/rpp2011-rev-particle-detectors-accel.pdf http://www.kip.uni-heidelberg.de/~coulon/Lectures/Detectors/
to
estimate
efficiently
the and
http://www.xtal.iqfr.csic.es/Cristalografia/parte_06-en.html
Â
Prod at new terrain Little traveler what is your name Show your face And make your way inside the space of the crystal Collision Coming in the flesh Light up At best Manifest Your color In its potency and ardor Multiply yourself congruent Fluent in a wave of electrical current
CLOUDS
Clouds are en ensemble of water molecules. They can be considered as water storage systems. They are formed for coalescence of water vapor molecules, evaporated at the surface of seas, lakes or rivers.
Â
The Book of Clouds, John Day, Publisher: Sterling 2005, ISBN-13: 978-1402728136
Part 5
Skinny sound shape shushing me
Tufts of grass move fierce Pushed to point in different directions The contour of trees conform to this force
Air inside paper Press out shapes That cling to edges Air in the sky Where birds draw lines Into the drawing Calling forth the witness of the invisible
FIELD LINES
As a force can be visualized by a vector, with a certain direction, versus and length, the effect of the force, a field, can as well be represented by lines with a certain direction, versus and length. The field lines are the mathematical representation of the intensity of the field; in other terms they are the representation of the intensity of the perturbation, which the force generating the field induces in the surroundings.
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/417438main_Magnetic_Math.pdf http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783540302827
http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/111218/in-which-direction-does-the-current-flow-ina-wire-moving-north-to-south-along-t
The needle pivots A magnet underneath the crust An iron heart inside the bust Feet sunk in soil The vector field in which my thoughts coil Am I lost A disc of the globe lies in my hand Red triangle positively pointing south An imaginary line rests in the sand I follow and walk upon it
WIND TURBINES
Wind turbines are the modern version of windmills. Blades rotate when hit by the wind. The mechanical energy produced by the blades motion can be converted into different energy forms, as chemical energy or electricity.
Wind Turbines, Erich Hau, Publisher:Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013, ISBN 978-3-64227151-9
In conclusion this dialogue took several unexpected yet favorable turns. The
first
different
poem
in
(other
each than
part the
triggered one
Elsa
inside
Callini
the
poem),
to
respond
although
with
a
related
phenomenon, which was not only amusing but also inspiring. This roused a discussion and brought forth a new analysis, which galvanized us to create each five new responses to each initial first part. I had to dig deeper into scientific research in order to reciprocate the knowledge. And as a result my view has been broadened, my understanding of the universe has been expanded and this allowed me to see my work through a scientist’s eyes.
Without
exception,
the
topics
exhilarating and strange adventure.
that
surfaced
made
it
into
an