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2:50am July 8, 2013

odditiesoflife:

Captured Lightning Sculptures

Bridging the gap between art and science. The pattern is the result of a 2.2 million volt miniature lightning bolt being discharged inside an acrylic block. The discharge creates millions of permanent microscopic fractures arranged in tree-like branching chains. The characteristic fractal pattern left behind is called a Lichtenberg figure.

I own one of those. At SLAC, where my father was a technician, they’re called beam trees. And they made them in the accelerator, first for fun, then as awards.

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    Captured Lightning Sculptures Bridging the gap between art and science. The pattern is the result of a 2.2 million volt...
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