Dynamics of the Apparatus

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Background The relationship between an experiment and the data it produces is a complex one - founding quantum physicist Niels Bohr describes this as a state of "complementarity". For Bohr, the interaction between the object of investigation and apparatus producing and measuring it 'forms an inseparable part of the phenomenon'. Debate on this relationship is ongoing in both contemporary physics and media art / data art. Contribution 'Dynamics of the Apparatus' expresses the energies present in the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most complex experiment in the world, by embedding particle beam and collision event data into video footage I took of the apparatus. The footage is algorithmically manipulated in a way that uses the 'sound' of the accelerator plus sonified particle collision events produced in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector to modulate the video. The sounds were developed in collaboration with CERN scientists. Through the video, the folding of matter, energy and data uniquely manifests the dynamic nature of experimental physics in the way that Bohr describes. The piece captures and manifests the technologies, energies and data manifest in the LHC, plus the subjective experience of being in the presence of such extreme devices. Significance The work was exhibited at CMS as part of the 'Circulez' group exhibition, which situated it in the physical and conceptual space it investigates. I was paid $1200 AUD fee by CMS. The opening attracted over five hundred CERN scientists and others, and many discussed the work with me. I was then invited to present the work the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, with selected other works from the show, from June 26 - July 5. I gave a lecture about the project for the KIT 'EFFEKTE Science Festival' Open Day, June 27. CMS and KIT covered the expenses of this journey. The work was also shown at the 'Lime Wharf' in London as part of the Victoria & Albert Museum's Digital Futures program.