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    The ‘atomic orderliness’ of crystals forming yield resplendent, microscopic landscapes

    Although they may look computer-generated, the micro-images created by Maria Ferreira at the Rhode Island School of Design, examine a very real world ordinarily imperceptible to the human eye. In her short video Lattice, Ferreira uses a polarising filter under an inverted microscope to transform growing crystalline masses into otherworldly prismatic landscapes, revealing the striking beauty and complex geometry of crystal formation.

    Director: Maria Constanza Ferreira

    31 October 2017
    A close-up of intricate shiny metallic crystal formations against a dark background. The crystals reflect light dramatically.

    videoChemistry

    Peek into the chemical nursery where metal crystals are born and bred

    3 minutes

    Abstract image with a vibrant pink and purple swirling pattern, featuring a glowing orb in the lower right corner and organic, fluid shapes around it.

    videoChemistry

    A square inch in a Petri dish becomes a grand stage for chemical transformations

    4 minutes

    Close-up photo of a textured surface with vibrant purple, orange and blue abstract patterns.

    videoFilm and visual culture

    Our world has very different contours when a millimetre is blown up to a full screen

    8 minutes

    Abstract digital painting with swirling, overlapping strokes in grey, white, and black, with hints of orange and blue lines on a light background.

    videoQuantum theory

    ‘Moving paintings’ evoke a quantum particle collision at the Large Hadron Collider

    4 minutes

    Numerous birds flying in formation against a light sky above power lines and poles, creating a rhythmic pattern in the air.

    videoArt

    The inadvertent art of tiny bodies – stunning, hidden patterns of animal movement

    10 minutes

    Microscopic image showing a close-up view of a butterfly’s proboscis covered with vibrant pink and orange structures.

    videoBiology

    Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes

    4 minutes

    A dark sky with numerous stars and a bright, luminous object emitting light in the centre.

    videoAstronomy

    Celebrating the rough, the raw and the human in hardcore space science

    3 minutes

    Close-up photo of butterfly wing scales in shades of orange, pink, white and black arranged in a mosaic-like pattern.

    videoBiology

    Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings

    3 minutes

    Abstract night scene with vibrant colours; glowing trees line the horizon under a dark sky with a bright, distorted moon.

    videoFilm and visual culture

    An augmented-reality filter reveals the hidden movements all around us

    7 minutes