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21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
The Equivalence of Space and Time: Light Cone Spacetime Sculpture

A most remarkable aspect of physical reality, which is so often unheralded, is the equivalence of space and time celebrated in Einstein's Light Cone, which lead to reltivity. In addition to exalting the beauty of the landscape at night with unique light, the drone also exalts the beauty Einstein's relativity. As explained in this Smithsonian article regarding my art: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-physicist-uses-drones-to-create-giant-light-cones-in-the-desert-180982250/ This Physicist Uses Drones to Create Giant Light Cones in the Desert Evoking a key concept in relativity, Elliot McGucken traces out hourglass-like shapes in the sky that stretch as high as a seven-story building. “The first thing you have to accomplish is a sense of beauty. You owe that to the viewer before you start giving them any sort of physics lecture,” he says. “I want people to see the desert landscape at night, and then see the light cone, and then start wondering, ‘What is that? What does it mean?’”

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Marble Canyon / White Pocket, United States Minor Outlying Islands
Camera: GFX100S
Copyright: © Elliot McGucken