Originally posted November 3, 2010

In images and videos

November 3, 2010

I wanted to share some images and videos with you. These aren’t necessarily new. Some of them have been making the rounds on the internet lately, and it is likely that most of you have seen these already. Well, according to me, these are so cool that I am sure that you won’t mind seeing them again! There is no substitute for a good image or movie to effectively portray how much fun and how inspiring science can be. I hope that you agree with me that these images are well worth sharing.

Images:

A brief confession: If I had this PhD thing to do all over again, I would have been a microscopist. I would have made images. I LOVE reading microscopy papers. I am absolutely fascinated by super-resolution imaging techniques. And, I usually just end up staring, wide-mouthed and speechless, when I go to a seminar given by an expert microscopist.

So, I guess that you could say that I’ve got a soft spot for a good image.

I don’t think that I’m alone in this sentiment. Actually, I know I’m not. A picture tells a thousand words. It conveys meaning that we just can’t translate into spoken or written language.

Felice Frankel has written … or … composed … a number of books on the practice and fascination of scientific image making: Envisioning Science, On the Surface of Things, and No Small Matter (written with George Whitesides).

C&E News hosted its first science photography competition recently, asking for submissions from their readers. The notable images, shown here, have some remarkable entries from amateur science photographers. I am only posting the basics of each photo here. But I hope they get you interested and inspire you to go out and learn more about the content of each one.

C&E News photo competition winner: An image of silicon nanocones taken by Jennifer S. Atchison.

My favorite image from the C&E News photo competition: An image of polymer blobs taken by Keith J. Fahnestock.

Nikon, which makes really awesome microscopes, along with the cameras and lenses that they are known for, sponsors a yearly photo contest for scientists who use their products. And, every year their Small World competition produces one of my favorite image compilations.

Nikon Small World competition winner. An image of a mosquito heart magnified 100 times (submitted by Jonas King).

Nikon Small World competition winner. An image of a red seaweed magnified 40 times (submitted by John Hulsman).

Videos:

From the department of “ohmygoshthisstuffisosooocooliwishicouldhavemade
thesemyselfespeciallytheoutterspacething” I give you the following.

In the first video, which is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, a father and son (Luke and Max Geissbuhler) send a video camera into outer space. This is the greatest science experiment ever. It sure beats playing with a toy chemistry set! Just try and contain your excitement as you watch the balloon climb higher and higher into space. This guy is the coolest dad ever! (Outside of my dad, of course! Happy Birthday Dad!)

or click here if the video doesn’t show up in your browser.

The next video was made by Adrianus Aria and Morteza Gharib at Caltech. If I were still at Caltech, I would be their biggest groupies … or at least I’d buy them some lunch at Ernie’s. They filmed water droplets bouncing off of arrays of carbon nanotubes, which are one of the best materials at repelling water. Like Homer Simpson on a treadmill, this video is mesmerizing. I love it.

or click here if the video doesn’t show up in your browser.

Ahhhh … those make me happy.

-mrh