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 THEN Stand-alone seismographs NOW 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 Jones 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 9/28/09 11:30:17 AM PAGE 5 ACIDALIA PLANITIA ARCADIA PLANITIA OLYMPUS MONS TEMPE TERRA CHRYSE PLANITIA AMAZONIS PLANITIA LUNAE PLANUM DAEDALIA PLANUM VALLES MARINERIS ARGYRE PLANITIA AONIA TERRA 210° E 240° E 270° E 300° E 330° E MARS MAPPING L/GODDARD/USGS updated map by nasa P /J A S A THEN Telescope and graphite NOW Satellite, laser, and supercomputer MAP: N MAP: 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/09 11:30:24 AM PAGE 6 Exploring Mars illustrated by lowell 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 L/GODDARD/USGS P the shaded relief map (in background). It looks like a high-resolution blue the lowest. ¶ Researchers are currently using the next generation /J A S photograph, but it’s actually a computer image generated from more of this technology to chart the moon. These maps are the culmination of A than 600 million laser measurements of the Martian surface. The Mars millions of dollars of research—a far cry from the vintage chart crafted MAP: N 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 THEN 2-D NOW 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 A S A E: N E: TROPOSPHERE 0–10 MILES G ITE IMA ITE LL ATE S 1 4 2 17.11FF.vintage_science.LO;35.indd 9/28/09 11:30:45 AM PAGE 8 Exploring the Weather illustrated by lowell hess MOUNT EVEREST 5.5 MILES A S A E: N E: For a gallery of images from G vintage science books, as well ITE IMA ITE as interviews with science writer LL Roy A. Gallant and illustrator ATE S Lowell Hess, go to Wired.com. .