Powers of ten - the relative size of things

published in cinema by prill on Apr 7 2007 06:21 PM

Atom Science Short Film Size Infinity Movie Universe

The camera focuses on a peaceful picnic in Chicago, where a couple lies upon sun-covered grass. From here on, an aerial, galactic, celular, molecular and atomic journey begins. A journey where measuring the relative size of things ends up showing us intimate conections between every visible and invisible object that surrounds us or is inside us. Apples, atoms, planets, trees, the rings of Saturn, pores, continents, clouds, ... They all have their perfect fit in a size scale that goes from 10^25 to 10^-18: the size of the known universe and the smallest known subatomic particle, at the time.

Atom Science Short Film Size Infinity Movie Universe

This short, written and directed by Charles and Ray Eames, both north-american designers, was distributed by IBM and is a reflection of the fascination and optimism brought on by scientific breakthroughs of the 60s and 70s. Perhaps that will allow us to watch the movie with a special enchantment, shedding, for at least these nine minutes, the feeling of disapointment that seems to haunt us, in current times.