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DESKTOP WALLPAPER |
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The wallpaper images below are from the online galleries of the Ventures in Science Using Art Laboratory (VISUAL), a recently launched educational outreach program of the NSF-funded Materials
Research Science and Engineering Center on Polymers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Already the recipient of numerous honors, the VISUAL program is designed to give the general public and aspiring students access to imagery that is not only breathtaking to see, but rich in scientific information.
These images are available to use as desktop wallpaper on your computer. Select the appropriate size of your desktop and follow the instructions on the image page. Please read the Legal Note before using |
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About the images |
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WAIKEN'S WONDERS
Like frost on your window in winter, some polymers crystallize in a similar
manner, starting from a central point and growing outwards in all directions.
They are roughly spherical in shape, and, hence, are called spherulites. To
fill space, they grow into each other, forming the polyhedrons (multi-sided
objects) that you see here. If you look at them in a polarizing microscope, a
Maltese cross pattern can be seen. The different colors of light can be used
to provide information on the spatial arrangement of the crystals.
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DONG SEOK'S PEPPERMINTS
It is exciting to be exposed to the wonders of the microscopic world. This
is particularly true if you are studying how polymers solidify and form
sphere-like arrangements of crystals, called spherulites. Like ice on a window in
the winter, the growth of these crystals begins at many centers at the same
time. The crystals grow out from these centers in all directions and meet each
other to fill up space. With polarized light in a microscope, the
arrangement of the polymer molecules in the spherulites can be determined by
the colors that appear in the different parts of the spherulite.
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TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES
These worm-like patterns could be some life-form deep on the ocean
floor. However, this is far from the case. The periodic patterns seen here
were created on a polymer surface placed under an electric field. Each
worm is a ripple on the film surface, with the size and shape of these
features determined by the strength of the applied electric field and the
properties of the polymer. The colors -- like an oil slick -- are caused by
light bouncing off the surface of the polymer and the underlying support, and
describe the contour of the surface.
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THE BLOSSOMS OF SHUJUN
Imagine a layered cake, a parfait or any layered dessert. A similar type of
layering occurs in thin films of block copolymers, only the layers are tens
of nanometers thick (a hundred thousand times thinner than a sheet of
paper)! If we place a liquid on the surface that attracts one of the layers
beneath, then the layers within the film will rearrange themselves in an
attempt to allow the attracted layer to reach the liquid. The floral
arrangement shown here, is actually an electron microscope image that
captured such a rearrangement, only it has been magnified twenty thousand
times.
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GREEN WITH ENVY
Like raindrops crystallizing into snowflakes as they fall, some polymers
crystallize in a similar way, starting from a central point and growing
outwards in all directions. They are like spheres of crystals and, hence,
are called spherulites. To fill space, they grow into each other forming the
polyhedrons (multi-sided figures) that you see here. If you look at the crystal
in a polarizing microscope, the Maltese cross pattern is seen. By filtering
the light, the different colors can be used to provide information on the
structure.
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XU TING ROOTS
This captivating band of features that look like roots was produced by
placing an electric field across the surface of a thin polymer film. This
causes the surface of the film to become unstable, forming a wave pattern on
the surface that grows as time passes. Eventually a band of lines is seen
that resemble the roots of a tree. This image was captured in an optical
microscope. The colors arise from light reflecting off the surface of the
polymer and the underlying support. The colors tell you what the thickness
of the film is and, so, the contour of the surface can be directly measured.
In this image, the roots appear to be shooting across the field of view.
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Legal Note The images above are provided for personal use. Please review our Copyright policy and restrictions on individual images in the Multimedia
Gallery for any other usage.
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