on the revolution of the heavenly spheres
2018
almanac design
Quantum physics and astronomy are two inseparably linked fields of science. They describe what is invisible and difficult to investigate, and therefore vastly beyond human imagination. Many rules of quantum physics and astronomical knowledge contradict everyday, simplified understanding of the world and are not grounded in common experience. Phenomena that are difficult or even impossible to observe become distant and abstract. Lack of sufficient knowledge about the surrounding world often leads to misinterpretations of reality, the emergence of para-scientific theories, or even boycotting the activities of scientists. Such phenomena occurred all the more in the past, when knowledge about the cosmos was almost negligible. In the 15th century, hardly anyone believed in the truthfulness of Nicolaus Copernicus' heliocentric theory. His work, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, even made it into the Index of Forbidden Books. My work has the same title because it is timeless and well reflects the dualistic nature of cosmology. It touches on both its scientific and philosophical aspects. Today, hardly anyone doubts that the Earth revolves around the sun, and not the other way round. However, the latest discoveries in the field of quantum physics are incomprehensible to many. The school programme often overlooks more complex phenomena. Fascinated by the scientific theories describing the universe, I decided to create this work.
The project is a publishing design that gathers popular science articles written by Adam Adamczyk, the author of the blog www.kwantowo.pl. The anthology includes thematically consistent texts, at the same time showing a broad context of the physical and astronomical phenomena discussed in them. They describe the theories of quantum physics and astronomy throughout history, showing the evolution of scientists' views and the impact of computerization on the speed of development of astronomy. The articles balance on the edge of the examined world, and hypotheses so far unconfirmed. They inspired me to interpret them artistically and to present them in a way that may intrigue people who are not related to the exact sciences on a daily basis.
The point of reference for my work was the technical style of describing the astronomical concepts, inaccessible to the common reader, as well as precise graphs and diagrams depicting them. Even in popular science magazines, the illustrations accompanying the texts are usually naive, similar, schematic - and above all, unimaginative. Phenomena as abstract as quantum fluctuation or Planck density encouraged me to take up the challenge and try to visualize it in a way that is more accessible to the recipient. I have set myself the goal of conveying the atmosphere of the texts that I have included in my publication in a graphic form. Quantum physics itself describes very elusive phenomena, which gave me the freedom to visually interpret them without being influenced by their actual appearance.
