Seeing Science: The Art of Making the Invisible Visible

Seeing Science: The Art of Making the Invisible Visible 

by Jack Challoner 

Language: English 

Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2022. 

272 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 25 cm. 

ISBN: 9780262544351, 0262544350 

Summary: Demonstrates the power of images to represent the unseeable, offering visualizations of science that range from the microscopic to the incredibly vast. With more than 200 color images and a text by science writer Jack Challoner, this volume explains and illustrates the techniques by which scientists create visualizations of their discoveries. We see the first detection of a black hole as represented by an image from an Xray telescope, get a direct view of DNA through an electron microscope, and much more. Visualizations are also used to make sense of an avalanche of data--concisely presenting information from the 20,000 or so human genes, for example. Scientists represent complex theories in computer models, which take on a curious beauty of their own. And scientists and artists collaborate to create art from science visualizations, with intriguing results. -- Provided by publisher

Reviews: Isis: A Journal of the History of Science in Society

The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science

The Beauty of Chemistry: Art, Wonder, and Science 

by Philip Ball, Wenting Zhu, Yan Liang 

Language: English 

Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2020. 

382 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm. 

ISBN: 9780262044417, 0262044412 

Summary: "Chemistry is not just about microscopic atoms doing inscrutable things; it is the process that makes flowers and galaxies. We rely on it for bread-baking, vegetable-growing, and producing the materials of daily life. In stunning images and illuminating text, this book captures chemistry as it unfolds. Using such techniques as microphotography, time-lapse photography, and infrared thermal imaging, The Beauty of Chemistry shows us how chemistry underpins the formation of snowflakes, the science of champagne, the colors of flowers, and other wonders of nature and technology. We see the marvelous configurations of chemical gardens; the amazing transformations of evaporation, distillation, and precipitation; heat made visible; and more. The visuals in The Beauty of Chemistry are drawn from the online exhibition Envisioning Chemistry created by Wenting Zhu and Yan Liang in collaboration with the Chinese Chemical Society. These striking images are accompanied by accessible, engaging explanations by award-winning science writer Philip Ball"--from publisher's website

Reviews: Journal of Applied Crystallography; Scientific American