What is it?

Inspiration for WALT Art comes from the WALTA physics project. Extremely high energy particles enter our atmosphere and collide with other particles, spawning clusters of energized daughter particles. The particles are presumed to be billions of years old and perhaps are generated when a galaxy collapses.

The collision events are rare and the particles so highly energized they inspire investigation. To study particles penetrating our atmosphere, researchers use lucite which has been coated with material that "scintillates" when it is hit by a particle of energy.

We are creating an interactive art installation illustrating the randomness and size of the events -- including art pieces based on the luminous properties of the scintillating lucite. We'll play with light and time to create an environment which makes the viewer want to know more.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Spawning Daughter Particles ...

Lucite panel with etched pattern.Two new students have joined WaltArt, and we don't waste much time putting them to work! Susan has started in on a lucite panel and Yuri is building a sculpture.

Meanwhile, Edgar (using his cell phone) documents Alex's completed lucite panel, looking much better now that all the carpenter's tape has been removed. Note: Photo credit of Alex's panel goes to Edgar Escobar.

We are about to insert the panel into one of the boxes.

The panels, with the scintillation material applied to their surfaces, display interesting color changes when exposed to different kinds of light.

Panel shining blue under light.
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