UNIVERSCALE
Click on the word above
*Requires FLASH and a broadband connection.
The universe is amazing. Perhaps that's the biggest understatement you've read today, or this year. Do we even know what the universe is? There are questions, in my opinion, that are even more important than that one but it is a very important question and one that we're pursuing with all our scientific might. One way to understand the universe is in terms of scale and apparently Nikon, the optics company, has spent some time thinking about how to visually represent the drastic disparity in scale from the smallest things we understand to the very largest, the universe itself. Play around with this tool and take some time, when you can, to read a bit. If you're anything like me I think you'll find this tool very compelling and informative.
CLICK HERE FOR A ANOTHER, SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WHICH IS MORE
"ACCESSIBLE" IN SOME WAYS (COLOR, ACTUAL PICTURES)
A more geeky, detailed description of UNIVERSCALE:
Universcale is an interactive Flash website by Nikonwhich allows you to play around with the idea of "scales." With a simple click of the mouse, you can see objects of varying sizes, from femtometers (10-15) to lightyears.
Some users prefer other representations such as the alternative which I provided above or here (requires the Sun Java app).
Click on the word above
*Requires FLASH and a broadband connection.
The universe is amazing. Perhaps that's the biggest understatement you've read today, or this year. Do we even know what the universe is? There are questions, in my opinion, that are even more important than that one but it is a very important question and one that we're pursuing with all our scientific might. One way to understand the universe is in terms of scale and apparently Nikon, the optics company, has spent some time thinking about how to visually represent the drastic disparity in scale from the smallest things we understand to the very largest, the universe itself. Play around with this tool and take some time, when you can, to read a bit. If you're anything like me I think you'll find this tool very compelling and informative.
CLICK HERE FOR A ANOTHER, SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WHICH IS MORE
"ACCESSIBLE" IN SOME WAYS (COLOR, ACTUAL PICTURES)
A more geeky, detailed description of UNIVERSCALE:
Universcale is an interactive Flash website by Nikonwhich allows you to play around with the idea of "scales." With a simple click of the mouse, you can see objects of varying sizes, from femtometers (10-15) to lightyears.
Some users prefer other representations such as the alternative which I provided above or here (requires the Sun Java app).
3 comments:
Ok Dan I watched it but it was taking so long I ended up fastforwarding. I've got babies tugging at my legs!!!! I did think it was interesting though. Sorry you felt ignored :-)
Well, it's not that I felt ignored, just a bit sad that people weren't interested enough to leave a comment. I love ontology (the study of reality...asking the BIG questions) and I think thinking about the immensity of space and the relative difference between the largest and smallest of things gives us a really good understanding of our physical reality, or the plane we currently reside on. Anyway, thanks for your comment! Having children makes ontological studies quite a bit more challenging I've found. (;
You're just too smart for your own good!
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