The Star Map Crystal is a cosmic paperweight: a 3″ glass cube laser etched with a 3D map of all stars within 5 parsecs of the sun.

Art, Science and Technology

Bathsheba Grossman is an internationally collected artist, working with new and old technology to make sculptures in many materials.

To draw this map, pulses from a focused laser beam are directed into the blank glass. Each pulse of the beam passes freely through the glass except at its focal point, where the concentrated energy causes a tiny fracture. These microscopic sparkles catch the light, forming a permanent map floating inside the crystal.

A trajectory of Lorenz’s equations, rendered as a metal wire to show direction and 3D structure.

Here is a 2D julia set

And the 3-D Julia set animation.

Every time I see it, I feel perplexed as to the complexity and the beauty of it.