Product Description
What does nature really look like? Today, aided by the wizardry of modern scientific imaging instruments, we are able to see far more of the physical world than we ever dreamed possible. These devices can discern millions of invisible colors, look back in cosmic time some 14 billion years, peer behind and within seemingly opaque borders such as skin and bone, and capture events that last a mere trillionth of a second. Looking through their "eyes," we have acquired powers far more potent than Superman's X-ray vision: the powers of Super Vision.

From microscopes to telescopes, from magnetic-field detectors to chemical mapping probes, today's instruments make possible an entirely new view of nature. Super Vision is a comprehensive showcase of 200 breathtaking scientific images that span the world of phenomena from subatomic particles to the incomprehensibly vast structure of the universe. The accompanying text tells readers what they are looking at and explains the underlying technology. Also included is a huge, groundbreaking chart clearly illustrating the relative sizes of objects covered in the book. At once a primer on the scientific worldview and a reminder of the awesome, multidimensional beauty of nature, Super Vision simultaneously informs and delights.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 3 reviews)

Spectacular photo book

This is one of the most beautifully illustrated photo books I've ever seen. Ranging from the submicroscopic to the macroscopic and even cosmic in scale, the book presents hundreds of spectacular photos of different aspects of our world and universe. They range from the geometrical perfection of a matrix of metallic crystals, to the delicate tracery of a microbial colony, to amorphous, bloblike, and menacing looking cancer cells, to the graceful symmetry of a galaxy floating in the vastness of space.

Every photographic method you can think of is represented (including many I couldn't have thought of), including ordinary light photography, x-ray, infrared, plane-polarized, electron microscopy, magnetic resonance imaging, and a photo of Washington, D.C. using something called Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar.

In addition to size, the time scales range from subatomic particles that only last a few trillionths of a second to photos of distant galaxies whose light has been travelling for 14 billion years to reach earth. The text is also clear and concise and non-obtrusive and doesn't detract from the visual presentation of the photos. Overall a beautifully illustrated photo book just to browse encompassing the many wonders, young and old, big and small, and animate or inanimate, of our world.
March 20, 2004

Beautiful Science

I can't remember another book combining scientific insight with artistic beauty quite this way. The author has painstakingly selected, arranged, and captioned stunning scientific images. Whether for the coffee table or to actually read and learn something, Super Vision is a winner.
January 02, 2004

Stunning book about a beautiful world

From protons to parsecs, Ivan Amato's "Super Vision" reveals what many scientists know: the universe is a visually stunning place. This remarkable collection of images, coupled with Amato's compelling captions, shows the art that can be found in science. Thanks to advances in instruments ranging from atom smashers to telescopes, combined with unprecedented computer power, the phenomena of the cosmos can be painted in vivid color. Scientists use these images in their daily effort to understand the universe; we can enjoy them for pure aesthetic pleasure. Covering 42 orders of magnitude (powers of ten), "Super Vision" shows us the abstract swirls of a decaying particle, the eerie machinery of a spider's spinnerets, how zebrafish scales can look like a Balinese hillside, and the tortured faces of distant planets. For a guide to the art in our natural world, this is the book. It's as beautiful as the universe it describes.
December 09, 2003

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