ASSISI CONVENT SCHOOL

Noida, Uttar Pradesh-201301

PHYSICS ART INTEGRATED LEARNING PROJECT ON

The Physics of “Cosmic

Designs”
THE MIXTURE OF ART AND PHYSICS
SUBMITTED BY
NAME : SNEHA CHAUDHARY

CLASS : XII-E

ROLL NO : 08

Admission no. : s3092

"He to whom Nature begins to reveal her open secret will

feel an irresistible yearning for her most worthy interpreter,
Art."
– Goethe
INTRODUCTION

Physics and the arts are much more intertwined then

most people imagine. In many ways they are one and
the same. Both the physicist and the artist try to
understand and interpret the world around them. They
must visualize, experiment, explore and eventually
share their findings. While they may go about it in
different ways, they both must understand the nature
and properties of matter and energy. Though here I
focus primarily on the visual art of cosmic designs
which are very closely related to physics.
NOW LET’S SEE HOW

COSMIC DESIGNS
ARE RELATED TO
PHYSICS
 MULTIVERSES
The theories of
inflation (the rapid
expansion of the early
universe) and
multiverses (multiple
universes) inspired the
artist to create this
installation of eggshell-
like forms of handmade
paper. Each shell
represents an
individual universe
with its own set of
attributes and
constants.
 TIME/INFORMATION
In this painting, time is
represented by the
curving dark blue lines—
a primary colour for a
fundamental concept.
The zeroes and ones
written along the blue
lines symbolize
information. The
painting hints at an
information paradox as
the zeroes and ones flow
into the central black
hole. The parallel black
and white spirals
symbolize time and
information as separate
entities.
 SPACE-TIME/FIELD
Visualizing four
dimensions—three of
space, and one of time—is
difficult for our
perceptions. The attached
spiraling black and white
lines represent space-time
and fields. In this painting,
the red circles and the
dotted lines around them
stand in for the fields (such
as gravitational, magnetic
and electric fields) which
sit on the fabric of space-
time, represented by the
dark blue lines.
 SPACE/ENERGY
As we know from Einstein’s
E=mc^2, matter and energy
are closely related. The artist
tried to express this idea
through the spiraling
intertwined black and white
lines. The triangles and the
red dots in the background
create a network of entwined
yet distinct space and energy.
While making this painting,
Ithe artist also thought about
notions of dark matter and
dark energy, which make up
most of the universe but are
invisible to scientific
instruments so far.
 COSMIC FORM
This painting tries to
capture the entirety of
the cosmos, ranging
from the largest cosmic
collections (galaxy
clusters) to the smallest
particles at the same
time. The artist have
also tried to evoke the
different constants of
the cosmos and the
concept of probability
by incorporating
imagery of dice strewn
throughout the
painting.
 QUANTUM JOURNEYS
This print is a
montage of 12
smaller prints made
from zinc-plate
etchings. Each
contains a certain
view of the quantum
world that was
inspired by the
results from particle
accelerators and
other experiments.
 BIG BANG
This pen and ink
drawing is layered with
freehand and stenciled
shapes. The central
concentric circles were
made by repeatedly
drawing curves using a
French curve template
and represent the
inflationary state after
the Big Bang. The lace-
like layer signifies the
creation of the particles
and atoms, which
coalesced and eventually
lead to the formation of
stars, galaxies, and
galaxy clusters in our
universe.
 WORMHOLE
The fascination of the
artist for graphs that
tend to go to zero or
infinity led to this
piece. The artist
visualized a line going
on forever without
reaching zero, and then
taking off to another
dimension. This is a
three-dimensional
piece made of thread.
Seeing this work it led
me to new questions
involving the nature of
entanglement.
 COSMIC JOURNEYS
Neutrinos are difficult
to detect, as these tiny,
neutral particles can
pass easily through
objects without
interacting. The artist
would sometimes
imagine herself as a
neutrino, racing
through the cosmos at
speeds close to that of
light, wondering where
she came from and
where she is headed.
The result was this ink
drawing.
 COSMIC DESIGNS
These pieces are an
exploration into
concepts that range
from the microcosm to
the macrocosm, from
quantum mechanics to
relativity and from
singularity to infinity.
Such dichotomies are
part of a whole, and it is
the limitations of our
perception that create
the borders by
separating and
categorizing them.
Physics and art are often viewed as separate disciples, but
when taking a look back at the history of both, physicists have
always used art and artists have always used physics.
 Physicists use art to help them visualize abstract aspects of
the physical world. Artists in turn use physics to understand,
utilize and experiment with their materials. They have each in
turn supported the others growth and development and have
evolved together. The times of great advancement in science
and physics is often roughly correlated with revolutionary
movements in art. These fabulous artworks by SHANTHI
CHANDRASHEKAR are the great examples of the mixture of
art and physics.

….THE END….