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17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/09 11:29:53 AM PAGE 1

Intelligence, Redesigned 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/09 11:29:56 AM PAGE 2

The textbooks written by Roy A. Gallant taught a generation of students 1 3 7 that science could also be art. But research progresses and artistic methods evolve. So we gave these mid-century classics a 21st-century update.

by carl detorres research by timothy lesle

photographs by Todd Tankersley 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/09 11:29:57 AM PAGE 3

20 minutes

30 minutes

Outer Core

Inner Core

Epicenter

12 minutes

9 minutes Mantle

S waves P waves seismic sensors 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/09 11:30:04 AM PAGE 4

earthquake visualization updated illustration by jason lee

t h e n Stand-alone seismographs n o w Global seismic networks

When Roy A. Gallant’s Exploring Under the Earth was published in 1960, unconnected sensors scattered around the world could measure the force of an earth- quake. But exactly how the shock waves rattled around the planet’s interior was understood less well, as the simplified diagram below shows. Since then, the use of networked sensors and seismic modeling has vastly improved our knowledge of deep-Earth dynamics. ¶ To depict the effects of a temblor more fully, illustrator Jason Lee researched how P waves (which travel in compression like a Slinky) and S waves (which travel like undulations in a rope) move through the geologic layers. “The challenge with an earthquake is depicting the motion and how it changes over time,” Lee says. “People think of waves as linear, but a quake releases energy in all directions, making it hard to visualize.” ¶ Using simulations from a program called Seismic Waves, created by Alan at Binghamton University, Lee was able to trace the complex paths traveled by that energy, including how the waves change their course (or type) when they hit areas of different density. “I first visualized the various stages of an earthquake,” he says, “and then composited some of them into a single image showing its progression through and around Earth’s core.”

Exploring Under the Earth illustrated by john polgreen

1 3 9 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/0911:30:17AMPAGE5 mapping updated map by n e h t

T elescope and graphite 210° E daedalia nasa planum w o n

Satellite, laser, and supercomputer V 240° E alles Marineris 270° E aonia terra lunae planum 300° E AR G YRE PLANITIA 330° E

map: NASA/JPL/Goddard/USGS 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/09 11:30:24 AM PAGE 6

Exploring Mars illustrated by hess

promethei terra

30° E 60° E 90° E 120° E 150° E

Maps created from Earth-based telescope images—like the one from taking measurements at 300-meter intervals over the entire surface. Exploring Mars (above)—can’t capture the detail of a modern satel- The data was transmitted back to Earth, where it was converted to a lite survey. ¶ So in 2002, NASA and the US Geological Survey published digital elevation model, with red showing the highest elevations and the shaded relief map (in background). It looks like a high-resolution blue the lowest. ¶ Researchers are currently using the next generation photograph, but it’s actually a computer image generated from more of this technology to chart the moon. These maps are the culmination of than 600 million laser measurements of the . The Mars millions of dollars of research—a far cry from the vintage chart crafted

P L/Goddard/USGS N A S /J map: Orbiter Laser Altimeter spent about four years scanning the planet, with a telescope and tools available at an art supply store.

1 4 1 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/09 11:30:35 AM PAGE 7

atmospheric IMAGERY updated illustration by bryan christie

t h e n 2-D n o w 3-D As the space age dawned, people took new interest in the skies above. Two-­dimensional maps of Earth’s atmosphere like the one at right showed the distances involved in, say, putting a satellite into orbit. But a 3-D presentation of the same information can provide a more intuitive feel for the structure of the atmosphere. ¶ “The challenge in this piece,” illustrator Bryan Christie says, “is to create a richer experience—through light, shadow, refraction, and opacity—without adding clutter or los- ing legibility.” Christie’s studio not only depicted the atmospheric layers more accurately (including details like the mesosphere, missing in the earlier diagram), he also created a graphic that can stand alongside the classics of yesteryear as a work of art.

Exosphere 375–6,200 miles Hubble SPACE Telescope 370 miles

Space Shuttle 350 miles

INTERNATIONAL Space Station 250 miles

TRMM Satellite THERMOSPHERE 250 miles 53–375 miles (VARIES)

SpaceShipONE 69.6 miles

ULTRA-THIN FILM BALLOON 32.9 miles Mesosphere 31–53 miles

F-15 12.3 miles NASA Super-Pressure Balloon 20.8 miles Stratosphere 10–31 miles

Boeing 747 6.6 miles

Troposphere 0–10 miles N A S g e: ite ima ll ite s ate

1 4 2 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/0911:30:45AMPAGE8

satellite image: NASA Lowell Lowell Roy writer science with interviews as vintage science books, as well from images of a For gallery A. MOUNT Gallant and illustrator H ess, go to Wired.com. Wired.com. to go ess, EVEREST 5.5 miles

illustrated by Exploring the lowell hess W eather