The Intersection of Art and Science Fall 2017

Optical illusions are fascinating because they are almost like magic. These illusions take advantage of the way that our brain perceives visuals.  David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel won the  1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries about how the brain interprets the information sent to it from the eyes. They discovered that there is a step by step process in how the brain analyzes what the eye sees. Each neuron in the brain is responsible for a specific detail in the pattern of the image. But even with Hubel and Wiesel's discoveries and our knowledge of the different parts of the brain that deal with color, form, motion and texture, scientists still don't entirely understand how all the messages come together to produce our overall perception of an object.  In fact, once we've seen the "trick" in an optical illusion, it is almost impossible to un-see it. We are unable to transport our minds back to a time when we didn't know th...

Optical illusions have always been a strange wonder to many.   An optical illusion , is an illusion caused by the visual system and are identified by visually perceived images that are different from objective reality . There are three main types of illusions: literal optical, that create images that are different from the objects that make them, physiological illusions that are the effects of extra stimulation of a specific type (brightness, color, size), and cognitive illusions, the result of unconscious inferences. Pathological visual illusions are created from a pathological exaggeration in physiological visual perception mechanisms causing these types of illusions. One of the most important tools used by neuroscientists to understand how the brain creates its sense of reality is the visual illusion. Historically, artists as well as researchers have used illusions to gain insights into the workings of the visual system. Before scientists were studying neurons, artists...

George Ellery Hale founded the Mount Wilson Observatory in 1904. Hale was a prominent contributor to the field of astrophysics. The observatory was designed to be on the forefront of astrophysics. It is located on top of a mountain at 5,000ft high. Initially Hale worked up at the location with some of his colleagues in in order to develop new ways of learning about the night sky. Eventually in 1908 Hale had a 60-inch telescope built which is still there today. In 1917 the hundred-inch telescope was also built atop the mountain. At the time it was built it was the largest telescope in the whole world. Initially Mount Wilson was supposed to be a part of the University of Southern California campus and was only going to contain a 40-inch telescope. Before the final decision was made however, Southern California experienced a particularly harsh winter. It is because of this and other obstacles such as miscommunications between Edward Pickering (the USC funder) and that...

Mount Wilson is located in the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Angeles National Forest located in Los Angeles County, California. Mount Wilson is where you can find the Mount Wilson Observatory. The Mount Wilson Observatory is an astronomical center with large solar towers. The observatory has two historical telescopes. The Hooker telescope was one of the two; which was built in 1917 and was the largest at the time. Most recently in 2004, the CHARA array was built by Georgia State University, which is currently the largest optical interferometer in the world. George Ellery Hale founded the Observatory in 1904. He previously visited the Mt. Wilson in 1903 and thought it was the perfect place to set up an observatory. In 1904 Hale signed a lease for 99 years with the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The first telescope on Mount Wilson was the Snow Solar Telescope. The telescope was portable and Hale brought the telescope from the Yerkes Observatory in southern Wisco...

Mount Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale who was a leader contributor to the field of astrophysics. Since then it has been the site of ground breaking science to further the field of astrophysics. It is built on the very top of the mountain, resting at 5000ft altitude. Hale and some of his colleges worked up there when the area was first built developing new ways to learn more about the night sky. It wasn't long after that Hale set his sights high with the famous 60in telescope that finally got built in 1908 that is still there today. During Hale's lifetime, he also saw the 100in telescope get constructed in 1917, which at the time was the largest telescope in the world.  Before the founding of Mount Wilson Observatory by George Ellery Hale, it was originally supposed to be an observatory with a 40in telescope that would be part of the University of Southern California Campus. However, the winter after the decision was made to build the observator...