“LUX is not so much rocket science as about being very careful,” said Robert Svoboda, a physics professor at UC Davis who with Professor Mani Tripathi is a co-investigator on the project. “We’re dealing with very low energies where events are very hard to see.” When the concept of DM presented itself in the form of meeting Joe Davis- the Sanford Underground Researchers and being 4850 feet underground with the LUX detector I thought about “how“- then “why“ two questions I have also applied to “why make art” over and over. Art -how and why? Dark Matter - how and why? Am I to paint a portrait of DM - or an abstract concept of something unseen? Why would an artist try to understand it- and paint it? Part curiosity and part wanting to explore concepts with others- words can do that- but images of concepts are approachable- words and images as proven in the Sistine Chapel (1508) unstoppable. Art with science can be a place of ideas - knowledge and communication. My work is more my limited understanding passed onto the viewer what DM is and why we should know it- understanding as best I can- . Brief description: "Capturing Dark Matter"- Newton's Gravity and Alchemy & "The Hunt for the Unicorn". My understanding is: DM is evident in our Universe- as is gravity- the difference for the mean time is that it is possible to assign a measurement to gravity as it is known. The event of Sir I. Newton's theory becoming fact has allowed achievements we take for granted- such as flight. Before Newton- gravity was evident- objects fall- but it was not known why. Sir I. Newton’s- among others- quest for Alchemy is thought to lay the foundation for chemistry and physics- and the idea that all is made up of “ invisible matter”. With gravity we have flight- with alchemy > chemistry we have pharmaceuticals, various refined chemicals - incl. artists pigments. Dark Matter is evident- but not it's "number- its measurement is not a “proven known". It is believed that capturing it's measurement will allow for better energy use- and advancement in health care technologies - (to name two). Capturing Dark Matter will be a significant event. (Yes we saw Unicorns Underground and the metaphor was not lost on us- once we saw the first one- the rest of the "hidden" became visible). “We build on a past foundation of knowledge-for knowledge. “Past errors are a sign of progress as much as success-”
Photo Credit: Nancyjane Huehl, Sanford Underground Research Facility
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