Cracked
Tuesday, March 29. 2005
Arizona (Jan 19, 2005)
Another abstract view of southern Arizona deserts, while flying on my way to Tucson from Dallas. I don’t know exactly what kind of surface is this, but it looks like the bottom of a dry lake. I am always impressed by the invariance of scale in these geometrical patterns: if I didn’t know that this was shot from the window of an airplane I could have been easily fooled into thinking that these cracks formed in a dry pothole or old paint. Most of physical laws are in fact not invariant with scale, but the one regulating surface tension and the formation of cracks are apparently scaling very well on several orders of magnitudes in size. Did you know that when two cracks intersect they always do that crossing each other with a 90 degrees angle?
If you would like to see more abstract patterns based on aerial photos, have a look at the geoabstract category: you may be interested in some photos I posted a few months ago shortly after starting this blog.
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Thanks for the info, that is interesting. I’ll have to spend more time studying dried up mud puddles now!
Having just taken a “roll” of aerial photos on a flight from east to west coast I think it would be interesting to make an amateur aerial photo website. Tag them with lat/lon/elevation (if possible) and start weaving together a quilt of images.
Having just taken a “roll” of aerial photos on a flight from east to west coast I think it would be interesting to make an amateur aerial photo website. Tag them with lat/lon/elevation (if possible) and start weaving together a quilt of images.
I thought it was a frozen lake, and would not be surprised to see the tip of your shoe in the lower right corner;) Thanks for the “crack-fact”. I love to learn odd things.
You’re right, this really does look like a puddle. I never would have known what it really was if I hadn’t read what you’d written.
I also never knew that cracks intersect at 90 degree angles. Fascinating. Do you have any idea why that is?
I also never knew that cracks intersect at 90 degree angles. Fascinating. Do you have any idea why that is?
Mmm, let’s guess. Cracks usually intersects as a “T” junction: a secondary crack collides with a pre-existing crack and in doing so turns to a 90 deg angle (cracks grow longer on the tip, which is the “cracking point” ). If the intersect angle is not 90 deg then one of the two sides of the secondary crack will be closer to the main crack. In that case the superficial tension (which is causing the crack to form) should be smaller on the side where the angle is obtuse (>90 deg, the side where the two cracks are farther away and the force can be distributed on a large area), and stronger where the angle is acute. The crack will grow in the way that tends to equilibrate the forces on the two sides, e.g. gradually reaching the 90 deg angle.
At first sight I though it was some kind of frozen puddle... It’s beautiful!
The 90 degree thing is very interesting. Makes me want to look for exceptions. Anyway I like the composition and the contrast of light and dark areas in the photo.
I live in Arizona and I’ve never seen it look like that 
Well seen and shot! It’s gorgeous.
Well seen and shot! It’s gorgeous.
I love science! you have added a bit of relatively useless information to my brain and I thank you for that. I will never look at cracks in the same way again. nice photo by the way.
Whoa, that thing about the cracks is very cool. And useful to me as a student artist, if I ever want to portray cracking, to know that I should have the intersections like that to make them appear more natural.
I was fooled into thinking it was like 5 feet away when I first saw it- well spotted. This and the “erosion” geoabstract are phenominal.
I was fooled into thinking it was like 5 feet away when I first saw it- well spotted. This and the “erosion” geoabstract are phenominal.
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