ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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Heaven on earth: The multiverse made of rock and grass
A former coal mine in Scotland has been transformed into a vast cosmic homage, complete with galactic hills and megalithic universes
Worlds apart: The mounds represent neighbouring galaxies (Image: Charles Jencks)
The Crawick Multiverse
Dumfries and Galloway, UK
IN A disused open-cast coal mine deep within Scotland's Lowther Hills, an architect and a duke have built a whole new universe. In fact, it's even bigger than that: they've constructed a multiverse – out of grass, water and rock.
The 22-hectare site at Crawick, a few miles north of Dumfries, has been transformed from an eyesore into a vast work of land art. At first glance, it looks like a remarkably huge and pristine system of earthworks, dominated by two vast mounds and two stone circles, one seemingly collapsed, one still standing. But, consulting the map, you learn that the mounds are intended to represent the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. The fallen circle stands for our supercluster of galaxies; the other, the entire multiverse to which our universe (perhaps) belongs, and after which the site is named.
Look closer, and the cosmic intent reveals itself further. The paths that wind around each galactic mound are spiral arms, culminating in a "black hole" at their summits. Numerous other celestial signifiers are scattered elsewhere: radiating lines of rock indicate cometary impacts; a cluster of megaliths perched on a steep ridge forms a hand pointing to the north star; and a buried chamber conceals artefacts alluding to both the mythical and magnetic centres of the Earth.
The spiralling ring of stones representing the multiverse contains more than 100 boulders. Each stands for a different universe, with different laws of physics. GRAVITY 2 STRONG says one, within an engraving reminiscent of the space-time diagrams beloved of physicists. This one is shaped like a biconvex lens, suggesting that the universe has collapsed on itself. WELL-BALANCED says another, whose engraving opens out from a narrow channel to a broad vase. In this universe, like our own, a brief, early period of rapid inflation has given way to sedate expansion. ...
http://www.newscientist.com/article...id=SOC%7CNSNS%7C2015-GLOBAL-hoot#.VZpFaPmrTIU
- 05 July 2015 by Sumit Paul-Choudhury
A former coal mine in Scotland has been transformed into a vast cosmic homage, complete with galactic hills and megalithic universes
Worlds apart: The mounds represent neighbouring galaxies (Image: Charles Jencks)
The Crawick Multiverse
Dumfries and Galloway, UK
IN A disused open-cast coal mine deep within Scotland's Lowther Hills, an architect and a duke have built a whole new universe. In fact, it's even bigger than that: they've constructed a multiverse – out of grass, water and rock.
The 22-hectare site at Crawick, a few miles north of Dumfries, has been transformed from an eyesore into a vast work of land art. At first glance, it looks like a remarkably huge and pristine system of earthworks, dominated by two vast mounds and two stone circles, one seemingly collapsed, one still standing. But, consulting the map, you learn that the mounds are intended to represent the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. The fallen circle stands for our supercluster of galaxies; the other, the entire multiverse to which our universe (perhaps) belongs, and after which the site is named.
Look closer, and the cosmic intent reveals itself further. The paths that wind around each galactic mound are spiral arms, culminating in a "black hole" at their summits. Numerous other celestial signifiers are scattered elsewhere: radiating lines of rock indicate cometary impacts; a cluster of megaliths perched on a steep ridge forms a hand pointing to the north star; and a buried chamber conceals artefacts alluding to both the mythical and magnetic centres of the Earth.
The spiralling ring of stones representing the multiverse contains more than 100 boulders. Each stands for a different universe, with different laws of physics. GRAVITY 2 STRONG says one, within an engraving reminiscent of the space-time diagrams beloved of physicists. This one is shaped like a biconvex lens, suggesting that the universe has collapsed on itself. WELL-BALANCED says another, whose engraving opens out from a narrow channel to a broad vase. In this universe, like our own, a brief, early period of rapid inflation has given way to sedate expansion. ...
http://www.newscientist.com/article...id=SOC%7CNSNS%7C2015-GLOBAL-hoot#.VZpFaPmrTIU