Wallpaper Description:

This Captured Lightning® sculpture was created by irradiating a block of acrylic (Plexiglas) by a beam of electrons from a 5 million volt particle accelerator. The electron beam irradiated the left side, the specimen was then rotated 180 degrees, and irradiated once more on the opposite side. This created two independent layers of electrical charge deep inside the specimen. The rightmost charge layer was then manually discharged, creating a miniature "lightning storm" within the layer above. Additional electrical discharges then grew between the two charge layers, forming a beautiful 3D discharge pattern. The sculpture is lit from below by blue LED's. Unlike low resolution laser crystal art, each specimen contain a unique, and incredibly detailed, natural fractal discharge pattern. No two Captured Lightning® sculptures are identical. As they branch, the branching discharge channels become increasingly finer and hairlike, eventually disappearing at the tips. The smallest discharges may ultimately go to the molecular level.