Activity #1: Seeing Things Another Way

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We’ve just learned about a special kind of mathematical relationship that can help us to understand real objects.

Part 1

In this activity we are going to explore a series of patterns and their transforms with our “Diffraction Camera” (follow the link on www.orcsgirls.org/class).

Patterns with different symmetry,

Center the image on the left in the diffraction camera and capture the transform. What are some of the main features you see? Examples could be a number of intersecting lines, dots, streaks, blurry streaks, etc.

Center the image on the right in the diffraction camera and capture the transform. What are some of the main features you see? What are the main differences you notice between the two examples?

True or False: Patterns in reciprocal (opposite) space share symmetry features with the original patterns.

True

False

Clear selection

Capture transforms of the two images above. What are the main features you see? How are they different?

Circle True or False: Patterns that are smaller in real space are larger in reciprocal (opposite) space.

True

False

Clear selection

Part 2

Below are pictures of some common household items featuring or forming repeating patterns, much like we find in material structures. Try taking an optical transform of one of these images with the Diffraction camera.

Take a screenshot of your favorite image and share it with the group.

Household items

What are some of the main characteristics of your transform image? Some examples could be blurry blobs, lines, streaks, dots, big gaps, small gaps, etc. You can draw some if the features below if you prefer.

Part 3 - Draw your own pattern

Now that you have learned about how patterns of real objects appear after they are transformed into reciprocal (opposite) space, make a drawing below that you will capture a transform of. You can keep it very basic or you can use a variety of colors, shapes, and patterns… it’s up to you!

When you are finished, take a transform of your drawing. Does it look how you expected? How or how not?

Share your drawing and image with your group. Did you find anything surprising, creative, or otherwise interesting? Record your thoughts here.

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