Love Is in the Air

Science is amazing, it opens up our eyes to realms that would otherwise remain unseen. GREAT post, S/F...

reply to post by jkrog08

A quote from The Micronaut

" I want to raise awareness... of these beautiful little things which surround us in the microcosmos. "
Martin Oeggerli

Nowadays nature is in danger, so it's important that we see there are a lot of amazing things and that it's worth taking care of nature.

[edit on 4-2-2010 by Hithe Merinos]

Originally posted by phi1618
those are nice.

however the only thing that got me about your OP is that you said he "painstakingly " colors them, when in reality digital color takes not time at all ( at most 1 hour for someone who knows what they are doing for a complex work)

but they are nice, havent seen these yet. Unique idea, however easy.

[edit on 4-2-2010 by phi1618]

Not exactly true, to make it look good you would spend practically the same amount of time you would with traditional media.

Colouring the microcosmos

Oeggerli tries to be faithful to the real colours of his subjects, which he researches beforehand. But sometimes, because he is using very high magnification, items become almost transparent, "and there I have my freedom as an artist and can choose colours that fit," he says. In reality the moss forest was brown, says Oeggerli, but the orange background and tiny blue spores are his own design.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f88db7c8809f.jpg[/atsimg]

Sometimes his work turns up surprises, as happened with the butterfly wing helpfully provided by Oeggerli's cat Herbert.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/2b36c684ae96.jpg[/atsimg]
A butterfly's wings are covered with a sort of coloured "dust" that vanishes if touched. A microscope view shows that the dust is made up of overlapping scales made up of chitin, a product that often constitutes the outer skeleton of insects.

Magnified 5,300 times the wing reveals scales, coloured blue in the picture, and under them small structures in yellow. Ever the curious biologist, Oeggerli tried to find out what they were and consulted an expert.

"It's not clear what they are for, even for the expert. Maybe they are for pheromone distribution or they could also have an aerodynamic function," Oeggerli explained.

The SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) uses electrons instead of light to create a highly magnified image.

Specimens have to be prepared very carefully so they can withstand the vacuum in the microscope. Those containing water have to be dried in a way to prevent shrivelling.
Specimens also need to conduct electricity so some need a thin layer of conductive material such as gold.

The SEM is a popular research tool due to its advantages of higher magnification, larger depth of focus, greater resolution, and ease of sample observation.


[edit on 4-2-2010 by Hithe Merinos]

Besides being disgusting and sneezy,this is where life started(IMO).Its quite beautiful to look at the images and think about life.

Incredible post! Thank you very much! We spend so long looking for alien life outside of ourselves that we sometimes forget that it's here, there and everywhere! The beauty and grace of these images remind me that we (as a collective, universal being) are both infinitely large and infinitely small. Many truths could be reached simply from contemplating the nature of such beautiful imagery.

Brilliant stuff. S&F For you!

Fantastic! Thanks for the enlightening thread. All I can say is, Me Love You Long Time for that.

S&F 4 U

I feel dirty looking at those pictures....and yet...oddly aroused......mmmm pervy plants.

awesome man thanks for sharing. i always love any electron magnified pics. i like how no matter how small we look there is always so much detail. what a fractal universe we live in. and for all those people being aroused hahah what can i say you guys have a very vivid imagination but there is nothing wrong with that. S&F

The Images are awesome.

reply to post by Hithe Merinos


Love the photos, just one thing though, I started sneezing for some reason.

Being allergic to almost all environmental contaminants like pollen and animal dander, it is kind of a love hate appreciation for the photos.

Thanks for the thread.

Achoo!

Refreshing to see a beautiful thread. S&F
Second line.

the third one down looks like a suger puff lol but very intresting piks

reply to post by Hithe Merinos


thank you for posting these - you just changed my whole day :-)

these are amazing

reply to post by phi1618

however the only thing that got me about your OP is that you said he "painstakingly " colors them, when in reality digital color takes not time at all ( at most 1 hour for someone who knows what they are doing for a complex work)


but they are nice, havent seen these yet. Unique idea, however easy.

I have to disagree

it can actually be a painstaking process to color things digitally - even when you know what you're doing

the computer is just a tool like any other - it's not magic

these are gorgeous - and they took some real time

reply to post by Hithe Merinos

Awesome find !!! Very beautiful collection of "art" with wonderful colors. He must be a genius to get an idea like this

Speaking of "love is in the air"... interesting "plant" sat next to me, in the bus today. This was second time. Now if he's to repeat this for the third time, i may study this subject closer. I've to handle that without a microscope

Simply amazing find

Those must be the most awesome jaw dropping photos I have ever seen in my life...thank you so much for sharing it with us!

No wonder I'm allergic to pollen, look at it!
S+F.

Wow this is just strangely beautiful, its almost like looking at a alien planet of some sort. Earth is an amazing place where even the smallest of lifeforms are beautiful.

absolutley friggin stunningly beautiful. the detail of the sem data and the colors are remarkable s&f great find OP

Originally posted by Gamma MO

The tiniest things we can see with a microscope are breathtakingly beautiful.

The largest galaxies we can see with a telescope are breathtakingly beautiful.

Our every day perception of the universe is so incredibly narrow.

Great post, GM.

And the photos are stunning. Beautiful. Our magnificent little world. Sometimes someone comes along, and makes it possible for us to see...