not flowers

February 6, 2014 5:14 PM

Arranged Diatoms, via -> via
posted by the man of twists and turns (14 comments total)

Those are gorgeous. They remind me of old-fashioned floor tiles, or marble floors with inset patterns. If I could have a floor like that I would just go nuts.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:18 PM on February 6, 2014

Amazing.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:22 PM on February 6, 2014

Wow, these are wonderful. Thanks.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:29 PM on February 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Was this done by hand? Just looking at it is giving me sympathetic arm pain, criminy. Absolutely lovely.
posted by lucidium at 5:55 PM on February 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

So is this a *thing* among micro-sealife biologists? Two of them apparently got awarded prizes, was there a Victorian fad for microscopic still lifes? I want the background now.
posted by tavella at 5:57 PM on February 6, 2014

Ooh diatoms are so beautiful.

More of that sort of thing.

And more!

ooooh
posted by louche mustachio at 6:00 PM on February 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

They remind me of extremely small scale sailor's valentines
posted by Ferreous at 6:30 PM on February 6, 2014

Nice. My wife's boss earned his doctorate studying diatoms. I'll make sure he sees this.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:58 PM on February 6, 2014

Plates from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (1904)
Posters (not all diatoms) • T-shirts
posted by 0rison at 7:11 PM on February 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

All I got was some rocks.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:12 PM on February 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

Gorgeous. It's like a Rose Window of science.

Amazing that was all done on slides...
posted by maryr at 7:59 PM on February 6, 2014

Diatom slides were popular in the Victorian era. We still use them as test slides for microscopy. If you want to get one made, this is the one source I know.
posted by pombe at 8:22 PM on February 6, 2014

Oh wow, pombe. Bicycle!
posted by maryr at 8:54 PM on February 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Wow, that diatoms.co.uk site is a classic! Remember how awesome frames seemed back in the 90's? Those simple, home-rolled sites are getting rare.
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:59 PM on February 7, 2014