Molecular Expressions

This is a photomicrograph of Ben and Jerry's Apple Pie Ice Cream. You can find it on a site called"Molecular Expressions."

Once again, the worlds of science and art come together in play - to reveal astonishing beauty and some downright silliness. Beginning with the silliness, naturally, take a look at the collection called "The Silicon Zoo." Here, the microscope is turned towards the computer. Apparently, there is a horde of "silicon creatures and other doodling scribbled onto integrated circuits by engineers when they were designing computer chip masks." In some ways, this is equivalent to Medieval architects hiding their signatures in the eaves of their buildings. In other ways, it's even more inspiring. Invisible, anonymous artistry, too tiny for anyone to appreciate without the aid of a microscope, giant advertisements of the persistence of playfulness.

There are purportedly thousands of images in the Gallery. There's even a Movie Gallery where you'll find "time-lapse digital image sequences that explore the effect of rotating polarization, sample rotation, and crystallization as it actually appears under the microscope." And it's all so lovely! So informative! So fun!