Glass Abstract 2

Title

Glass Abstract 2

Artist

Sarah Loft

Medium

Photograph - Photograph With Digital Enhancement And Added Texture

Description

The glass cubes in this image, are composed of dichroic glass which is manufactured by stacking layers of glass and thin layers of oxides or metals. This gives the glass a shifting array of colors depending on the angle of view, or, in the case of photography, depending on the angle of the camera. Also entering into the composition are the distorted reflections of shapes and colors in the environment.

Per NASA Spinoff (https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2012/cg_2.html): NASA revitalized the production of dichroic glass in the 1950s and 1960s as a means of protecting its astronauts. Ordinary clear substances cannot protect human vision from the harsh rays of unfiltered sunlight, and everything from the human body to spacecraft sensors and computers are at risk if left unprotected from the radiation that permeates space. The microscopic amounts of metal present in dichroic glass make it an effective barrier against such harmful radiation.

While the ancient manufacturing technique called for adding metals to glass melt, NASA developed a process in which metals are vaporized by electron beams in a vacuum chamber and then applied directly to surfaces in an ultra-thin film. The vapor condenses in the form of crystal structures, and the process is repeated for up to several dozen coatings. The resulting material, still only about 30 millionths of an inch thick, is sufficient to reflect radiation even while the glass—or polycarbonate, as in the case of space suit helmets—remains transparent to the human eye.

Artist's recommendation: Get this as a METAL PRINT for maximum effectiveness.

Featured in the ABC group, May 2014.

Featured in the Pleasing the Eye group, October 2014.

Featured in The World We See group, February 2015.

Uploaded

July 21st, 2011

Statistics

Viewed 3,538 Times  -  Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/19/2024 at 11:33 PM

Colors

Embed

Sales Sheet