The strange world of soap bubbles

Soap bubble picture
take from http://www.bestpicturegallery.com/index_best_picture_gallery_6.htm 

A soap bubble is a very thin film of soapy water that forms a sphere with an iridescent surface. Soap bubbles usually last for only a few moments before bursting, either on their own or on contact with another object. They are often used for children's enjoyment, but they are also used in artistic performances. Soap bubbles can help solve complex mathematical problems of space, as they will always find the smallest surface area between points or edges.

M.C. Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher (17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972), usually referred to as M. C. Escher was a Dutch graphic artist.

He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints.
These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations. 

A 1929 self-portrait

He worked primarily in the media of lithographs and woodcuts, though the few mezzotints he made are considered to be masterpieces of the technique. In his graphic art, he portrayed mathematical relationships among shapes, figures and space. Additionally, he explored interlocking figures using black and white to enhance different dimensions. Integrated into his prints were mirror images of cones, spheres, cubes, rings and spirals.

Hand with reflective sphere

The history of the mirror

The first mirrors used by people were most likely pools of dark, still water, or water collected in a primitive vessel of some sort. The earliest manufactured mirrors were pieces of polished stone such as obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic glass. Examples of obsidian mirrors found in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) have been dated to around 6000 BC. Polished stone mirrors from central and south America date from around 2000 BCE onwards. Mirrors of polished copper were crafted in Mesopotamia from 4000 BC, and in ancient Egypt from around 3000 BCE. In China, bronze mirrors were manufactured from around 2000 BC, some of the earliest bronze and copper examples being produced by theQijia culture. Mirrors made of other metal mixtures (alloys) such as copper and tin speculum metal may have also been produced in China and India. Mirrors of speculum metal or any precious metal were hard to produce and were only owned by the wealthy.

Metal-coated glass mirrors are said to have been invented in Sidon (modern-day Lebanon) in the first century AD, and glass mirrors backed with gold leaf are mentioned by the Roman author Pliny in his Natural History, written in about 77 AD. The Romans also developed a technique for creating crude mirrors by coating blown glass with molten lead.

Parabolic mirrors were described and studied in classical antiquity by the mathematician Diocles in his work On Burning Mirrors. Ptolemyconducted a number of experiments with curved polished iron mirrors, and discussed plane, convex spherical, and concave spherical mirrors in his Optics. Parabolic mirrors were also described by the physicist Ibn Sahl in the 10th century, and Ibn al-Haytham discussedconcave and convex mirrors in both cylindrical and spherical geometries, carried out a number of experiments with mirrors, and solved the problem of finding the point on a convex mirror at which a ray coming from one point is reflected to another point. By the 11th century, clear glass mirrors were being produced in Moorish Spain.

In China, people began making mirrors with the use of silver-mercury amalgams as early as 500 AD. Some time during the early Renaissance, European manufacturers perfected a superior method of coating glass with a tin-mercury amalgam. The exact date and location of the discovery is unknown, but in the 16th century, Venice, a city famed for its glass-making expertise, became a centre of mirror production using this new technique. Glass mirrors from this period were extremely expensive luxuries. The Saint-Gobain factory, founded by royal initiative in France, was an important manufacturer, and Bohemian and German glass, often rather cheaper, was also important.

The invention of the silvered-glass mirror is credited to German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1835. His process involved the deposition of a thin layer of metallic silver onto glass through the chemical reduction of silver nitrate. This silvering process was adapted for mass manufacturing and led to the greater availability of affordable mirrors. Nowadays, mirrors are often produced by the vacuum deposition of aluminium (or sometimes silver) directly onto the glass substrate.

Seated woman holding a mirror

"Sea Before Ebb" and "Beach After Ebb"

"Sea surface before the ebb"

"Beach after the ebb"

Chronologies of Metal's History in Ancient China

PERIOD 1:

In the period of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty, multitudes of bronze objects were produced. And the foundry technology of bronze had reached a high level with the development of “slave society”.

The types of bronze objects can be divided into 3 parts according to the usage: producing tools, weapons, vessels for ritual and household appliances.

"Bronze Plate"

PERIOD 2:

The foundry of iron dates back from the Period of Warring States, which is connected with the establishment of feudal society. There are 2 kinds of techniques of foundry: foundry of block iron and foundry of pig iron. All kinds of types, such as white pig iron and grey pig iron, are widely used.

And at the same time, the ironmaking furnace, fuels and blowing machine had also developed accordingly.

"Iron Arrow"

PERIOD 3:

With the development of feudal society, different kinds of technologies of steel foundry had been created by the people, such as:

1.       Steel is from the foundry of block iron that is filled with carbon – had been introduced into application before the Period of Warring States.

2.       Steel must be tempered for more than hundreds of times - started from the middle age of West Han Dynasty and developed from the early stage of East Han Dynasty.

3.       Steel should be fried when smelted so as to take off the carbon and oxygen in pig iron – maybe it appears between two Han Dynasties.

4.       Steel is from the iron casting that is filled with no carbon – developed from at least West Han Dynasty and was widely used in Han Wei Dynasty.

5.       Steel is from the mixture of foundry between wrought iron and pig iron – it’s a kind of important technology of steel foundry starting from North and South Dynasty.

"Steel Sword of Tang Dynasty"

PERIOD 4: 

The foundry of bronze had developed further on the basis of technologies in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. A new kind of way in copper foundry – putting iron into copper-bath was created.

Brass was created. Zinc was extracted from mineral successfully.

Gold and silver were only used as currency and made into delicate adornments in ancient times.

"Brass Bowel"

"Gold and Silver Accessories"

Agriculture and Industry of Bronze Time in Ancient China

AGRICULTURE:
In the period of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty (2100 BC – 771 BC), the bronze farm tools began to be applied into production of agriculture because of the invention of smelting technology of metals. Thus, the agriculture technology stepped forward to the first stage of development.



INDUSTRY：

The foundry technology of bronze in ancient times can be divided into these aspects:

1. Some parts of mould combine with each other to become a big mould for foundry.

2. Respectively casting or enchasing.

3. Fine material for foundry and paint coat on the surface.

4. In the field of process technology, there are plating, welding and forging.

Because of these special measures, it’s possible to produce fine casting, huge object, curved horn, complicated dragon’s head, toggle chains, different patterns, hollowed-out rim, etc.

"Transparent Man" vs "Red Mud Man"

With regard to transparency, it always exists in science fictions. However, some scientists is trying to turn it into reality by means of “cloak of invisibility” in these years.

In 2003, Japanese scientists applied advanced electronic technology into it to invent the translucent cloak. The cloak is made of “reflective substance” so that it can reflect the images taken by the micro camera. Thus, the cloak can make the person who is wearing it mixed with the environment to look like transparency.

"Transparent Man"

Simba People is living in Bolivia, the life of whose tribe is still primitive at present. The taste of Simba woman to the beauty is different from us. They like to spread a kind of red powder on the skin and even hair every day to resist the exposure to sunlight. The powder is made of stone produced locally and cream. So the Simba women are always called red mud people.

"Red Mud Man"

Change your skin

"different types of car paint(metalyzed/matt)"

The double face

Top



Bottom

CD-ROM (pronounced /ˌsiːˌdiːˈrɒm/, an acronym of "compact disc read-only memory") is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback, the 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data.

Pre-pressed CD-ROMs are mass-produced by a process of stamping where a glass master disc is created and used to make "stampers", which are in turn used to manufacture multiple copies of the final disc with the pits already present. Recordable (CD-R) and rewritable (CD-RW) discs are manufactured by a different method, whereby the data are recorded on them by a laser changing the properties of a dye or phase transition material in a process that is often referred to as "burning".



When a comic become a movie

See the trailer

The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy".

Originally, Norrin Radd, a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La, made a bargain with the cosmic entity Galactus, pledging to serve as his herald in order to save his homeworld from destruction. Imbued in return with a tiny portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Radd acquired great powers and a new version of his original appearance. Galactus also created for Radd a surfboard-like craft — modeled after a childhood fantasy of his — on which he would travel at speeds beyond that of light. Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Radd began to roam the cosmos searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels finally took him to Earth, the Surfer came face-to-face with the Fantastic Four, a team of powerful superheroes that helped him to rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return by being exiled there.

The nature reflects itself

The Norwegian fjords

Definition: The general definition of fjord in Scandinavia is that fjord represents an elongated, deep body of water that is connected to the open sea at some point. A fjord is usually a deep bay or inlet along the coast, sometimes surrounded by cliffs.

Especially in southern Scandinavia fjords can also simply be shallow lakes or lagoons which is often not part of the English definition of fjords.

Pronunciation of "Fjord": fee-Ord, the word rhymes with sword

Moon landing

Neil Armstrong on the moon in 1969

"The contrast between the clarity of the helmet and the opacity of the lunar soil"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing

Man in the Mirror

Man in the mirror



I'm gonna make a change, for once in my life
It's gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right...

As I, turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat
Who am I, to be blind?
Pretending not to see thier needs
A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They follow each other on the wind ya' know
'Cause they got no where to go
That's why I want you to know

Chorus:
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place (If you wanna make the world a better place)
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
(Take a look at yourself, and then make a change)

(Na na na, na na na, na na, na nah)

I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
That there are some with no home, not a nickle to loan
Could it really be me, pretending that they're not alone?

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream
(Washed out dream)
They follow the pattern of the wind, ya' see
'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me
(Starting with me)

Art - Chinese Painting



"Maid of honor looks into the mirror " by fengmian Lin



"One mirror against another"

Philosophy - Conception in Chinese Words

"Reflection of flowers in a mirror and reflection of the moon in the water"   "镜中花，水中月" "jing zhong hua, shui zhong yue"

It’s quoted from the lyrics singed by fairies when protagonist – baoyu Jia was dreaming in one of the four famous literatures of ancient China - <Dream of Red Mansions> (红楼梦). It means that things are just like the reflections of flowers and moon. The metaphor of it is that it is not real but illusive.

TV series of  <Dream of Red Mansions>

Chinese blog about this philosophy

Concept - Beijing Opera House ("The Egg")


The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) (Chinese: 国家大剧院; pinyin: guó​jiā​ dà​ jù​yuàn​; literally: National Grand Theatre), and colloquially described as The Egg, is an opera house in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The Centre, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 12,000 m² in size. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu. Construction started in December 2001 and the inaugural concert was held in December 2007.

More details on "Beijing Opera House"

Beijing Opera House ("The Egg")



Advertisement - Motorcycle Safety Awareness



Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month poster (Source: NHTSA)



Reflecting Light - Sam Philips

Song of Reflecting Light

Reflecting Light

Artist - Sam Phillips

Album - Various Songs

Lyrics - Reflecting Light

Now that I've worn out, I've worn out the world
I'm on my knees in fascination
Looking through the night
And the moons never seen me before
But I'm reflecting light

I wrote the pain down
Got off and looked up
Looked into your eyes
The lost open windows
All around
My dark heart lit up the skies

And now that I've worn, I've worn out the world
I'm on my knees in fascination
Looking through the night
And the moons never seen me before
But I'm reflecting light

Give up the ground
Under your feet
Hold on to nothing for good
Turn and run at the mean times
Chasing you
Stand alone and misunderstood

And now that I've worn, I've worn out the world
I'm on my knees in fascination
Looking through the night
And the moons never seen me before
But I'm reflecting light

Swiss Boxcutter

Reflective blade and matt handle

Craft and Industrial tools

Wooden spoon

Metal spoon

Art & Painting

"Woman standing in front of a mirror" by C.W. Eckersberg

"The Rokeby Venus" by D. Velazquez

Architecture

Public Health Department in Bilbao

City of Arts in Valencia by S. Calatrava

Silver Bean in Chicago

Advertisement

Movie

The horror movie "Mirrors"

Things

Proverb from Emperor of Tang Dynasty

"If using copper as mirror, you can dress yourself; if usinng history as a mirror, you can konw the rise and fall of countries; if using person as a mirror, you can konw what is right or wrong."

---- Lǐ Shìmín 

(Chinese: 李世民)

Emperor Taizong of Tang (Chinese: 唐太宗; pinyin: Táng Tàizōng, Wade-Giles: T'ai-Tsung) (January 23, 599 – July 10, 649), personal name Lǐ Shìmín (Chinese: 李世民), was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. As he encouraged his father, Li Yuan (later Emperor Gaozu) to rise against Sui Dynasty rule at Taiyuan in 617 and subsequently defeated several of his most important rivals, he was ceremonially regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty along with Emperor Gaozu.



Emperor Taizong of Tang



Things

Road sign reflection

Reflective jacket

Mirror