One of an artist’s most fundamental characteristics is a capacity to bridge the gap between imagination and illustration and bring even the most abstruse and metaphysical concepts to life. Scientists and engineers understand this process all too well as they strive to coax into existence new theories, experiments and technologies. A striking example of that process is the artist Barron Storey’s attempt in the late 1980s to bring the ideas of the Gravity Probe B team at Stanford University to the public. Learn more.
Launched on April 20, 2004, Gravity Probe B (GP-B) was a collaboration between Stanford University and NASA designed to test two previously untested aspects of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity (geodetic and frame-dragging effects) by observing the precession of four near perfectly spherical gyroscopes in reference to a distant star as the spacecraft traveled in a polar orbit 400 miles above the Earth. The story of GP-B spans almost five decades and includes both a wide body of technical and scientific innovation and a remarkable collaboration between physics and engineering.
This is but one of a series of images illustrating the scientific concepts. View the gallery.
Image Credit: Stanford University/Barron Storey