nature

A Physic(al) Journey

~ Donna Emerald ~ 1 Comment

I love a good adventure, and lately I’ve been on a journey of exploration into the fascinating world of physics. I didn’t get to do physics at school, probably being deemed not bright enough to be let pack my bags, to set off on that trip with some of the students who set off on that adventure; in fact, I was once told by a rather sour-faced and lightly mustachioed member of the penguin tribe we know as “The Nuns” that I was a mathematical illiterate, so that’s probably why I stayed behind to watch sunbeams slant, and dream of traveling on the dust motes that spun in lazy patterns, as I dropped out, and tuned in, to different dimensions, traveling happily on my own secret adventures of the mind, for years.

In recent years, though, I’ve tuned in again to read about the wonderful world of physics. You don’t need to be able to do maths, you see, to appreciate the beauty of physics. All you really need is a sense of awe, and a curious mind (which I’ve often been told I have, ahem) to really dig physics, and start getting dug in. Bring your spade, ‘cos you’re invited, and we’ll dig down into the dirt of matter, but make it a fun exploration, perfect for dreamers, hopefully not getting stuck in the holes. How about some music while we learn? We can have our adventures go our own way, and there won’t even be an exam at the end. Sounds fun? Off we go, then, singing merrily along the way.

What’s that you say? Not quite what you were expecting? Good. Physics is full of delightful surprises, for something that proceeds in such a logical way. The little video I made, was a classic (Newtonian) timeline visual of ideas I’d been reading about in the always easy to understand Brian Gribbin’s book “Deep Simplicity”, but, wouldn’t you know, the journey took many twists and turns along the way, as I explored some of the ideas further, enjoying the side-streets and alleys of a new town I visited.

There were so many really great explainer videos on YouTube, that helped bring the ideas home effectively, and were stunning visually as well. Philip Glass’s “Einstein on the Beach” is a favourite musical piece of mine, and I couldn’t resist gathering up some of the best videos I found, during my reading explorations of the topic of how complex systems emerge from chaos, and how chaos is, in fact, intrinsic to order. I thought, why not, then, organise the nicest bits into a kind of visual diary of my reading, and have a bit of dreamer-style fun with it. It’s OK to dream, while studying physics, I discovered. I reckon it helps you learn, as you need to be able to imagine concepts, and play around with them, in your mind, to really get the WOW factor. I took plenty of time to dream, and still haven’t come to the last chapter of the journey, because I keep putting down the book, looking out the window, as I did in my school days, and saying “WOW”. Whatta trip.

Wanna see some of the videos I used for my mashup video? These talented creators put most of the effort in, in their wonderfully explanatory and visually beautiful videos, after all. First up, let’s have a look at the main video I used for the background, and overlaid other videos on, to create the mashup vid in OpenShot (free) video software. This was a brilliant video by Stephanie Yeoh, for the music track “Knee Play 5”. I know, it was a bit cheeky of me to even think of covering up parts of this perfect video, with other graphic elements overlaid, but the nuns always said I was a cheeky little rip, as well as mathematically illiterate, so…

Next up, let’s get outta the bus, and wade right in to the river, and hoist our sails, ‘cos there are so many more lovely places to see along the way, in our journey into physics. Here are some of the other videos I enjoyed, and made use of, in my imaginative journey, with my little guide book in hand.

What? Hotel’s full, even with infinite rooms? How can that be? Never mind, let’s skip the chaos and camp out for the night. Don’t get the matches wet, ‘cos we’ll need them to get a fire going, and get the party started, under the stars.

Erm, not sure we’re going in the right direction, and not terribly certain about how we got here, but I’m sure we’ll end up somewhere, with a fixed point to refer to (pulls out compass and taps it, playing for thinking time).

(Wakes at sunrise, under a semi-chaotic collapsing tent). Wow, my back hurts. I’m in bits, but I’m sure I’ll be OK for the homeward leg of the journey. Probably. Should be pleasant to finish my adventure in an armchair, with the rest of my book. Hope you had fun as well. Parting is such sweet sorrow, and all that. I see you’re in bits too. He he. Many of the best adventures are like that. Bye bye. May the road rise with you. It does, a bit, apparently (waves at tiny dot on the horizon).

Other videos used:

Crab Canon on Mobius Strip: https://youtu.be/xUHQ2ybTejU

Ant on Mobius Strip: https://youtu.be/kMgwaeLHUTU

Starlings, Murmuration: https://youtu.be/uV54oa0SyMc

Pendulum Waves: https://youtu.be/o3Q7JYBkOHU

Chaos Pendulum: https://youtu.be/QXf95_EKS6E

Freehand Circle: https://youtu.be/oDcr0yXpkk8

Ten Dimensions in Two Minutes: https://youtu.be/hf2CxZPl7KI

N-body Orbits: https://youtu.be/_3uQqrrBcrQ

Fractal Curves, Growing the Snowflake Sweep: https://youtu.be/vZ9Oi4LV_5w

nicogetz’ “Vibrations on Singing Strings”: https://youtu.be/ttgLyWFINJI

(Other clips include Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing, and an animation from a CGI movie, which I don’t know the name of, and this “Niagara” software tutorial, for particle animations https://youtu.be/31GXFW-MgQk?t=87)

ps. Had a lovely trip. Glad you were here.

My Fantasies

~ Donna Emerald ~ Leave a comment

I love listening to classical music. It can bring you to the most wonderful places in your imagination. Disney’s masterful feature animation ‘Fantasia‘ visits a good few of these places, and how gloriously imaginative is the music of the great composers like Modest Mussorgsky, whose ‘Night On Bald Mountain‘  provides a ‘musical picture’ on the theme of a St. John’s Night Witches Sabbath. Disney caught the menace in the music perfectly in the imagery and movement of the animated spectres and spooks of darkness.

Loving it as much as I am? I hope so, because this movie certainly made classical music accessible to its audience in 1940, as I hope it will for you too, if you aren’t already a classical music fan. If you fancy listening to some more, with a change in tempo, here’s some more of the magic of Disney. Ludvig van Beethoven does depressed and moody awfully well, but the Pastoral Symphony (Opus no. 68 ) is one of his sweeter, happier works.

Beethoven_sym_6_script
Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6 (Pastoral) script

Disney’s images to accompany the music are charming and sweet too. The following video features two versions of the same footage alongside each other for comparison. If you are the sort of person who likes fiddling about with reading the sleeve of the album cover too while listening, I can’t help you out, but I can provide a link to an analysis of some of the metaphors and mythological references that abound in the movie.

Satyr With A Pipe

Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? Let’s make it a night, settle down and relax in style like a satyr, pull up a log and grab a pipe to blow bubbles in order to not-think better, kick the shoes off to let the hooves breathe,  and enjoy taking a nice trip with these cute little mushrooms, who like dancing around to the Nutcracker Suite by llyich Tchaikovsky.

Soylent Green is People!

~ Donna Emerald ~ Leave a comment

MySoylentPosterandDrink

It’s here at last. I’ve been waiting patiently since 1973 for this product to hit the shelves. I first heard about it in the movie starring Charlton Heston, and it sounded like something that could solve a lot of problems in the food department, if you’ve nothing else left in the cupboard, or you just don’t have time to pop outside to scavenge. Here’s the movie trailer for those of you who haven’t ever seen it.

If you love the idea of being able to top up your nutrition with a convenient drink, choc-a-bloc with  stuff that you can add other stuff to, if you want it to taste better, here’s some more info about the drink…..

Soylent Ingredients

…and a helpful video by the people who make it.

Or, if you think the future of food isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, you could follow the suggestion made by this commenter:

SoylentYouTubeComment

Is your interest piqued in new developments in the food industry? Here’s a documentary called The Future of Food which might provide more insight.

Guest Blogger Cloudnine33

~ Donna Emerald ~ 1 Comment

meditation_harmony_peace_crystalCloudnine33 has kindly written a guest post, related to an earlier post I made over here. He has stuff to say on the nature of phenomena. Read on:

 

Everything is interconnected, ONE??? Obviously.
If we had no ears, then sound, speaking would have no meaning.
If there were no sounds, then ears, hearing would have no meaning,
Thus hearing and speaking are ONE movement. One has no meaning without the other.
They are both interdependent.
When one is hearing, it’s in their head and also outside their head at the same moment.
It’s ONE continuing vibration.
And do we change?????
LIVING, which IS movement, which IS time, IS change. Therefore change IS what IS.
And when we say change, what do we mean????
I am THIS, but I want to be THAT.
“THAT” does not exist, “THAT” is an idea, and an idea is not reality but an illusion.
And therefore ONE has divide itself psychologically into duality TWO, and thus the battle
begins between that which IS, and that, which IS NOT.
This IS the breeding grounds for all inner conflict, which manifests in all outer conflict,
What exists IS what IS.

Side B (just for the record)

~ Donna Emerald ~ 1 Comment

heads changing size from child to adult

As I was just sayin’ over here, I don’t think that change is all about the outside. But as humans, do we really change at all? Or is it only the outside that grows, develops, withers and decays? Are our minds, like Shakespeare’s idea of love, constant and unchanging? Psychologists seem to think our minds are more fluid and adaptable than we ever thought before, and can perhaps even have an influence on things around us, as Masaru Emoto’s contoversial theories, and quantum physics theory seems to suggest.

The philosopher Heraclitus seemed to think that we are all change, and maintained that
‘No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river, and he’s not the same man’. Food for thought indeed.

Image AP, Ricardo GangaleImage AP, Ricardo Gangale

Now, and Now, and Now

~ Donna Emerald ~ 2 Comments

Eckart Tolle’s ‘The Power of Now’ is one of the many books out there that looks at the idea of ‘no thought’, that is, being conscious without following the little monkey in our minds that likes to skip after  every thought we have, making us miss the moment we’re actually in. Tolle describes this as an addiction to thinking. He argues that thinking is a way of trying to escape from the present moment. A non-judgemental being in the moment is a tricky little number to explain, as words explain concepts, and concepts are what we are still  trapped in when we are trying not to think.

What’s the usefulness of what Tolle talks about? Well, if you like what he said in the first video, you might find out more of what he thinks it is from this one. On the other hand, you might have to create your own point, or even find it pointless to wonder how to connect with your deepest truth.

 

Where Nature and Culture Collude

~ Donna Emerald ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes money isn’t the bottom line. There are people out there (thank goodness) who care as much about creativity for its own sake as thinking about how they can create more cash out of the cash they’ve invested. I came across this creative pair on Adobe TV. They are generative designers, who work on the interface between art and design, using as many free tools as they can, and sharing their knowledge with others in workshops. Good stuff.