Today’s daily introduction was about shapes in general, and classified under the category of shapes included shapes in nature. Crystals are atoms arranged in a specific packing sequence, and opals are clusters of nanospheres that reflect light. When you think about it, the solar system actually represents the shape of the atom.
Our perception of shape is relative to our temporal perspective. Now, look at your surroundings. A seemingly static surface of an object is actually in constant motion at a molecular scale. Our DNA is very special. It has a very specific molecular structure that helps us copy our own genetic information. DNA includes systems, such as the ribosome, tRNA, and the mitochondrial membrane. If you pay close attention, structures, such as buildings, are simply combinations of shapes. After the lecture, we were allowed one hour to work on our final project. From one to five o’ clock, we visited the Fowler Museum, the UCLA Plasma Research Center, and the History and Special Collections for the Sciences.
At the Fowler Museum, we learned about the meaning of the pictures painted by the Australian aborigines depicted by the symbols. They were always either very abstract or direct. It was also very noticeable that every painting was symmetrical and had earthy tones.
In the UCLA plasma research center, we were first taken to the machine downstairs, then to the bigger machine upstairs, where I was able to see the beam of red light traveling around. The last place we visited was the History and Special Collections for the Sciences. Right when I stepped in, I was struck by the amount of antique items that were held there. The librarian had so many antiques, including Darwin’s Origins of Species and one of Florence Nightingale’s letters.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/cellular-microscopic-biology/dna.htm
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/psti/
http://www2.library.ucla.edu/specialcollections/biomedicallibrary/index.cfm
http://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-origin-of-species/