Science to Art to Surreal

Firegrass Submerged, photomicrograph of the hackle region of a Hertzian cone, area shown 1mm.

$Iguana Dawn, photomacrograph of crater and Hertzian fracture in clay "crust" over plate glass.$

$Hertzian Cone from Below, photomacrograph. This image is a view from below a plane of glass covered by a clay "crust". The impact was on the opposite side. This is the same fracture shown in the image: Iguana Dawn.$

The Ascension, photomicrograph. The wake and braided tail created when a projectile strikes and "stretches" glass. It is formed in the same manner the transom wake is created behind a boat traveling through water.

$Alice Through the Looking Glass, photomicrograph. This shows crater floor of a Hertzian fracture at the top of the cone. The "dress" form was created by sub-surface irregularities in the steel BB at impact.$

Black Glass, photomacrograph: A portrait of an asymmetric cone created by a forward-spinning steel-ball projectile. The trajectory was from left to right at ~30 degrees from horizontal.

$Titanic Ballroom, photomicrograph. The surreal image was created in the "mist" area of a Hertzian fracture where the mirror section is divided from the hackle region. The diameter of the area is ~1mm.$

$Hertzian Cone, photomacrograph: Portrait of the base section showing muliti-directional fracturing. This phenomenon resembles features found when lightning stikes a sandy beach creating similar forms.$

Crystal Range, photomacrograph: A mountain range with peaks measuring 5mm is created when grouped, low-velocity projectiles strike glass.

$Cygnus Arises.Photomicrograph. This 1mm field of view along the edge of a Hertzian cone creates illusion. Wings of Cygnus are small hackles created when energy disipates along the boundry of the cone. The body and neck of the bird are a microns wide fracture.$

$Cygnus On The Ascent, photomicrograh. A different angle of the fracturing along the edge of a Hertzian fracture that is highlighted in Cygnus Arises.$

$Firebird, photomicrograph. The main rounded body of the bird is the crater floor at the top of a Hertzian cone. Surface irregularities in the BB that struck the glass form sub-surface fracture that creates the illusion of an avian form. The body measures ~1mm.$

Firefiles at Cypress Camp, photomicrograph.

Glamdring, photomicrograph. A microscope pointer and the floor of a crater create Gandolf's weapon.

$Force Field, photomicrograph. The image of the crater and fracturing on the apex of a Hertzian cone.$

$Portrait of a Hertzian Cone Crater and Pedistal #1. Stress-stretch fractures are seen at the top of a Hertzian cone. The flat crater floor at the top measure ~1mm.$

Compound Hertzian Cone in Polarized Light, photomacrograph. Onion-skin-like hackle flakes lie around and on this polarized-light image of a crushed Hertzian cone. Crushed cones are the results of higher speed projectiles striking the surface to create the layering around the cone.

Pap-Styled Hertzian Cone balanced on 20 Pound Copy Paper, photomacrograph. Size ratios can be compared in this image of a cone and the paper that supports it. The smooth-style is named for the pap-shaped hills of Scotland.

Hertzian Cone Base on Glass Plate, photomacrograph. A jellyfish-like image is created when the central core of a Hertzian cone rests on a sheet of plate glass. The diameter of the cone base measures ~12mm.

IXTHUS In A Bubble, photomicrograph. When a projectile spins rapidly the shape of a Hertzian cone will be altered. Here a forward spinning BB with a low angle trajectory skipped along the pane of glass. The first crater can be seen in the "mouth" of the main fish.

Mordor's Tear, photomacrograph. Viewed from directly above this compound Hertzian cone. Diameter of the cone is ~20mm.

Mount Hertz at Fingertip, photomacrograph. A mountain-like side view of the core section of a Hertzian cone gains perspective by the fingertip in the left of the frame.

$The Winged Cat, photomicrograph comprised of features from the transom wake and sub-surface fractures of the crater floor in a glass Hertzian fracture.$

$Red Fish Blue Fish, photomicrograph. Multiple impacts in glass as shown from below create optical fish within the fractures.$

High-contrast photomicrograph of the base of a Hertzian cone.

$Niagara Falls, photomicrograph. The circle is the crater floor on a Hertzian cone. Ripples in the water are wing and wake fractures in surrounding glass.$

Road to Perdition, photomicrograph. The image is of the minute hackles along the base edge of a Hertzian cone.

$Tears of the Iron Rose, photomacrograph. A compound Hertzian fracture on edge. Sparks are intimated by micron-sized glass powder created when the overburden, the main sheet of glass, was removed.$

Bird Priest, photomicrograph. The form of the Bird Priest measures ~100 microns in width.

The Bodice, photomicrograph. shows a section of the crater floor surrounded by the transom wake, wings and tail created by a 5mm steel ball impact on glass. Ball trajectory - bottom to top.

$The Capitals of the Gold Cathedral, photomicrograph. This illusion shows a crater base flanked by feather hackle fractures. The projectile trajectory that created it was from top to bottom.$

$The Clear Eye, photomicrograph. The feature is a Hertzian fracture in a glass plate. The cone is still attached to the main plate and to some reflects transitory humanoid features.$

$The Demon, photomacrograph, created from an impact where a cone was not produced due to flex in the glass plate, forming the star-like fracturing.$

$The Eagle Has Landed, photomicrograph. A fantasy landscape is created by fractures in the middle regions of a Hertzian fracture.$

$The Ghost of Moby Dick, photomicrograph. The edge of a Hertzian cone reveals ghostly fractures.$

$Transparent Fish and Chicken, photomicrograph. The first illusion found during research on the physicalities of Hertzian fractures. The rainbow-faced fish hugs the green chicken's neck.$

$Watchers of the Fire. Photomicrograh of an area with a diameter of about 1.5 mm (1/16") Flame-like features are microscopic fractures called hackles. They are the fissures created when a projectile strikes a brittle surface. Window and incandescent light used creates variances of color and value$

$Winged Rosette, photomacrograph. A portrait of a Hertzian fracture in which the cone did not dislodge from the main sheet of glass. This view is toward the bottom plane of the glass sheet.$

$Craters Watching, photomacrograph. Craters created in a clay crust reveal their corresponding Hertzian fractures in a supporting plate-glass base.$

Eye in the Sky. Photomacrograph. A crystal jet seems to burst from an ever watching eye.

$The Glass Menagerie, photomacrograph. Several animal forms can be found in this ice-melt-like image. The photo is from above a crushed ~22mm Hertzian fracture in plate glass. The "stream" is created by a side fracture along the plane of the surface.$

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1 Tybee Beach & Area 2 Savannah Area 3 Architecture 4 Texture Science to Art to Surreal

Science to Art to Surreal: Photomicrographs as Art

Finding beauty in brokenness can be a blessing of the mind and spirit. In these images the refractive qualities of glass and light interact to evoke one's vision of whimsy or conversely reveal one's demons. I was surprised at some of my own interpretations… more demons than expected buffered by substantial whimsy.

Some included here are studio portraits of the small one-half-inch-in-diameter glass cones. They emphasize the shapes and beauty-of-form in an attempt to transcend sterile science photos that grace the endless pages of academic journals. Many photos may have hidden features. Some do not. The viewer creates his or her own vision, so look closely.

Other images reveal surreal extensions of the viewer’s mind where shapes are interpreted and features created from personal experiences, beliefs, fears and wishes.

The image above, “Watchers of the Fire” is interpreted by some as adventurers around a camp fire. Others see the same shapes as demons watching the fires of Hell. You may find another personal interpretation.

I discovered these images while revisiting a photographic record created and compiled during nine years of laboratory studies on the physicalities of Hertzian fractures. By cropping closer, hidden and surreal images were highlighted in many of the photos.

Hertzian fractures are commonplace. You’ve seen them before. They’re all around. They can be created when a rock hits a windshield, when a BB strikes glass or when a hammer strikes a rock. Primitive mankind made stone tools by whacking stone on stone to create arrowheads and blades. The serrated, sharpened edges were lines of Hertzian fractures. They are so common that they are overlooked because of their perceived insignificance. They are far from that assumption. Civilizations were built on their contributions.

All images are as they were found and photographed in full or partial Hertzian fractures in plate glass. I did not paint or alter images beyond normal color, contrast, dodging and burning processes.

The project transitioned from science to art to surreal.

- James Byous

For more information on Hertzian fractures

go to http://www.DowdResearch.org

Watchers of the Fire. Photomicrograh of an area with a diameter of about 1.5 mm (~1/16") Flame-like features are microscopic fractures called hackles. They are the fissures created when a projectile strikes a brittle surface. Window and incandescent light used creates variances of color and value.