As part of an assignment I’ve been asked to discover, recommend and defend a digital artefact. I choose The Scale of the Universe which I stumbled upon a few months ago and it immediately became one of my favourite digital gizmos. Don’t be fooled by the size of this interactive infographic because in its modest area on the webpage you’ll find hundreds of objects in the universe from the inconceivably small to the the incomprehensibly large! It allows you to travel through natures hierarchy, from strings all the way to the estimated size of the universe, by dragging a slider in the direction of your choosing.
Why do I like this digital artefact so much? Firstly, I’m fascinated by astronomy and cosmology and this digital widget never ceases to amaze me. Its size may be small but its educational potential is immense! Unlike an embedded linear video, this allows the user to interact with it and every object is clickable revealing pop-ups with further information. I’m also truly impressed that so many facts and objects can be squeezed into such a small space on a webpage. This is cleverly achieved by allowing the user move along the virtual z-axis while dragging a slider on the x-axis. The use of vector graphics, which are mathematically constructed when needed for display, keeps all the imagery sharp with no degradation as they increase in size. A truly sublime piece of work!
The Scale of the Universe is on display at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Texas, and the Charles Schulz Museum in California. It was created by Cary and Michael Huang (http://htwins.net).
You can find the original version of The Scale of the Universe at http://htwins.net/scale/ (requires Flash)
And the newer, more colourful, version (pictured at the top of the page) at http://htwins.net/scale2/ (requires Flash)
And another reason why I like it… the developers knew its potential, didn’t waste their idea and converted it to a mobile app which of course I had to download!
Have a go for yourself… it puts into perspective just how minuscule (some might say insignificant) we are! 🙂
Enjoy!
Vincent
Bonus digital artefact: On the subject of digital artefacts and space, I could not let the opportunity pass to mention another of my favourite apps… Cosmic Watch. This is the world’s first digital interactive astronomical time device based on a stunning 3D model of the solar system. It’s a clock and a very impressive interactive learning tool allowing you to see the current, past and future alignment of our solar systems celestial bodies. The study of Digital Arts & Humanities forces us to rethink how we digitally display information. I think this is a captivating way to change our perspective of how we see something so elemental as time. http://cosmic-watch.com
