Description: One of a set of moderately massive acrylic blocks. Tapered and beveled. Total of eight flat planes. Produced during a dedicated campaign to explore the phenomenon of dielectric breakdown - electrostatic discharge. This is approximately 14" by 14" inch overall and one and a quarter inch thick. Specimen weight is two pounds. This specimen demonstrates the basic "fractal-like" pattern that most resembles a branched "tree" with a strong "root" where the discharged electrons terminated their escape from the material. As a test piece, the bottom surface was not polished, but rather left with a matte finish. Due its origin, handling and storage, be noted that there are some minor surface imperfections. Barely visible scratches can be found - and one minor plane surface shows signs of "crazing" which can occur in this material. Requires shallow side lighting and close examination to detect. Large, powerful electron accelerators are needed to inject energetic (several Million Electron Volts) electrical charges deep inside dielectric material, such as this poly methyl methacrylate. When induced to discharge, the 'spark' forms within a few tens of nanoseconds, producing a loud bang, flash of light and leaving the trails inside the material that are created by the trillions of electrons escaping the polymer. External magnifications can show multiple levels of exquisite detail. Macro-photography can yield unlimited variety of images for examination, study, and wonderment. Displayed images show three examples of the patterns that can be created from photographs of such Figures plus some simple image manipulations to flip, rotate, and piece together a mosaic of detailed complexity. Such electrostatic discharge patterns were first discovered in 1777 by the pioneer scientist and experimentalist, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799). He was also known as a mentor to many accomplished researchers in multiple fields at the dawn of objective science. He may have been most remembered as a writer of aphorisms; which showed him as an original thinker and observer of nature and human behavior. His personal biography is a wonder in itself.
Price: 35 USD
Location: Ballston Spa, New York
End Time: 2024-11-06T17:15:43.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type: Sculpture
Lichtenberg Figure: Electron Tree
Spark Tree: Electrical Discharge
Lightning Sculpture: Lightning Tree
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
