Yeah it's weird right?
It gets even weirder when you start looking at what happens at cryogenic temperatures, or when things are immersed in certain chemicals, or all kinds of other things. You realise that most of what you consider 'normal' behaviours only really apply in a very narrow temperature/pressure/etc. situation.
James Webb Telescope.
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Mr. Dazzle
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Screwdriver
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Re: James Webb Telescope.
It is weird, I only wish I'd had better teachers because I (now) find the subject fascinating. Superconductors, superfluidity it's all a bit bonkers outside our somewhat unusual realm. I think I went off on one some time ago (VD or TRC!) on the properties of water. A fantastically odd molecule with a vast number of unique properties, many of which can cluster around human friendly temperatures, largely, one assumes because we're mostly made of it...Mr. Dazzle wrote: ↑Tue Apr 19, 2022 5:00 pm Yeah it's weird right?
It gets even weirder when you start looking at what happens at cryogenic temperatures, or when things are immersed in certain chemicals, or all kinds of other things. You realise that most of what you consider 'normal' behaviours only really apply in a very narrow temperature/pressure/etc. situation.
I obsessed with this model because it's going to be floating around in deep space, a million miles away as close to absolute zero as makes no odds. The thought of this magnificent machine silently gazing out to the edge of the universe sends shivers down my spine. I don't know why but I guess I can imagine it being utterly alone and yet under the remote control of its Earth bound creators.
On the other hand it is also one of the most spectacularly intricate and beautiful objects ever created. I say far more so than a Fabergé egg or a Leonardo painting and as I write this, I hesitate to suggest "better" than a great classical work of music. I hesitate because they are similar or perhaps even mutually compatible. Think: 2001: A Space Odyssey
I think, that is also why, while I am happy with this crude representation of the JWST, it doesn't fill me with the sense of wonder that I get from looking at the many pictures. I will persist only because 1. the JWST is now lost in space forever and 2. perhaps it might be useful as an educational supplement or help get others fired up about this incredible creation.
(and 3. I might make a few quid)