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A photo of a tiny motor attached to a cotton string, with an atypical torque in the string Download this image.
February 12, 2009

"String Vibrations"

"String Vibrations."

A twist of the fingers sends a string into a feverish dance. Photographer Andrew Davidhazy of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York set out to photograph that dynamic by attaching a tiny motor to a cotton string. But he got overzealous in powering up the motor, forcing an atypical torque in the string. "I happened to over-spin the string and all of a sudden, the picture was more exciting," he says. Davidhazy used a Canon digital camera to document the movement. The total exposure time for "String Vibrations" was about two seconds, during which the string spun some 10 to 20 times, the photographer says.

This image was tied for honorable mention in the Photography category of the 2008 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. The competition is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science. To learn more about the Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge competition, see the SciVis Special Report Here . (Date of Image: 2008)

Credit: Andrew Davidhazy, Rochester Institute of Technology


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