Prompt: Each class meeting, you should be writing one page on the topic we covered in class. You can also use this as a time to do independent research, create photo essays, or similar. If you’re unsure, contact me about it. You should also use this space as an opportunity to write about inspirations for your own work, and to put your sketches, illustrations, etc. online.
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In this eleventh reflection, I will be:
a/ Putting down and reacting to my highlights among the things covered in class
b/ Giving Updates on my independent research
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a/ My highlights among the things we covered in class
Today we covered the theme of “Virtual sources versus real sources” in class. We watched a number of illustrative videos. Professor Scott mentioned and showed us a picture of how oftentimes lasers can be used to create the illusion of space. My favourite illustrative video is the one below. Watching it always triggers a sensation of escapism within me, which is undoubtedly achieved by the authors through the meticulous coupling of sound and image animation in it. I find the beauty of this art piece breathtaking.
Student Cyril Cuda asked such an interesting question on the piece. He was wondering whether such a piece of art would make sense to our generation if it were devoid of sound. Professor Scott voluntarily did not give a definitive answer to the question, most probably because of his style of teaching, which places student voices at the centre of any debate we have in class, instead of him directly giving us the answers. Personally I think coupling sound to such an art piece is ultimately a tradeoff. There are many gains in terms of captivating the audience. However, assuming that there is a fixed amount of focus one can have at a certain time and it gets allocated to our senses, when the artist adds sound to the piece, the focus on the complexity of the image movements and quality arguably decreases, because of how much attention becomes allocated to sound quality. Moreover, simplicity can also be great sometimes. However, I should acknowledge that this piece was one of my favourites this semester!
We took a trip to the LED market on Tuesday. It was great to indulge in such a way in the life and activity of the light artists, just like we visited the hackerspace last week. I loved the fake market and will definitely go back there before I fly out of the country.
In class we also watched a video of some work made by Erwin Redl named “Breath of Light”. The artist uses acrylic plates to create beautiful effects will light. As someone who is “far away” from chemistry academically speaking, wanting to know the justification behind the use of acrylic plates by the Erwin Redl made me read about the material’s physical composition in my independent research.
b/ Updates on my independent research
This is a part of what Wikipedia had to say on it (I copied and pasted the three paragraphs below directly from the site to display where my research led me):
Properties
PMMA is a strong and lightweight material. It has a density of 1.17–1.20 g/cm3,[1][16] which is less than half that of glass.[1] It also has good impact strength, higher than both glass and polystyrene; however, PMMA’s impact strength is still significantly lower than polycarbonate and some engineered polymers. PMMA ignites at 460 °C (860 °F) and burns, forming carbon dioxide, water, carbon monoxide and low-molecular-weight compounds, including formaldehyde.[17]
PMMA transmits up to 92% of visible light (3 mm thickness), and gives a reflection of about 4% from each of its surfaces due to its refractive index (1.4905 at 589.3 nm).[2] It filters ultraviolet (UV) light at wavelengths below about 300 nm (similar to ordinary window glass). Some manufacturers[18] add coatings or additives to PMMA to improve absorption in the 300–400 nm range. PMMA passes infrared light of up to 2,800 nm and blocks IR of longer wavelengths up to 25,000 nm. Colored PMMA varieties allow specific IR wavelengths to pass while blockingvisible light (for remote control or heat sensor applications, for example).
PMMA swells and dissolves in many organic solvents; it also has poor resistance to many other chemicals due to its easily hydrolyzed ester groups. Nevertheless, its environmental stability is superior to most other plastics such as polystyrene and polyethylene, and PMMA is therefore often the material of choice for outdoor applications.[19]
PMMA has a maximum water absorption ratio of 0.3–0.4% by weight.[16] Tensile strength decreases with increased water absorption.[20] Its coefficient of thermal expansion is relatively high at (5–10)×10−5 K−1.[21]
Daylight redirection
- Laser cut acrylic panels have been used to redirect sunlight into a light pipe or tubular skylight and, from there, to spread it into a room. Their developers Veronica Garcia Hansen, Ken Yeang, and Ian Edmonds were awarded the Far East Economic Review Innovation Award in bronze for this technology in 2003.
- Attenuation being quite strong for distances over one meter (more than 90% intensity loss for a 3000 K source), acrylic broadband light guides are then dedicated mostly to decorative uses.
- Pairs of acrylic sheets with a layer of microreplicated prisms between the sheets can have reflective and refractive properties that let them redirect part of incoming sunlight in dependence on its angle of incidence. Such panels act as miniature light shelves. Such panels have been commercialized for purposes of daylighting, to be used as a window or acanopy such that sunlight descending from the sky is directed to the ceiling or into the room rather than to the floor. This can lead to a higher illumination of the back part of a room, in particular when combined with a white ceiling, while having a slight impact on the view to the outside compared to normal glazing.
Artistic and aesthetic uses
- Acrylic paint essentially consists of PMMA suspended in water; however since PMMA is hydrophobic, a substance with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups needs to be added to facilitate the suspension.
- Modern furniture makers, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, seeking to give their products a space age aesthetic, incorporated Lucite and other PMMA products into their designs, especially office chairs. Many other products (for example, guitars) are sometimes made with acrylic glass to make the commonly opaque objects translucent.
- Perspex has been used as a surface to paint on, for example by Salvador Dalí.
- Diasec is a process which uses acrylic glass as a substitute for normal glass in picture frames. This is done for its relatively low cost, light weight, shatter-resistance, aesthetics and because it can be ordered in larger sizes than standard picture framing glass.
- From approximately the 1960s onward, sculptors and glass artists such as Leroy Lamis began using acrylics, especially taking advantage of the material’s flexibility, light weight, cost and its capacity to refract and filter light.
- In the 1950s and 1960s, Lucite was an extremely popular material for jewelry, with several companies specialized in creating high-quality pieces from this material. Lucite beads and ornaments are still sold by jewelry suppliers.
- Acrylic Sheets are produced in dozens of standard colors,[39] most commonly sold using color numbers developed by Rohm & Haas in the 1950s.