THESE seminal scientific images, taken from the new book by Anna Escard脫 (published by Taschen), are more than just a treat for the eyes.
The lateral view of the human brain, shown above, is taken from French physician and anatomist Jean-Baptiste Marc Bourgery鈥檚 Atlas of Human Anatomy and Surgery. First published in 1831, this textbook is known as the most comprehensive ever produced on human anatomy.
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The three images above show, from left to right: nerve synapses called the calyces of Held, drawn in 1934 by Santiago Ram脫n y Cajal, whose neuron doctrine showed that the nervous system isn鈥檛 continuous, but is made from discrete cells; Albert Einstein鈥檚 1905 sketch of a puzzle game from his relativity notebook; and watercolour illustrations of the moon by Galileo Galilei, based on observations made with a telescope he constructed in 1609 that was powerful enough to examine objects in the night sky.
Shown above is NASA鈥檚 2012 image of two 鈥渄oughnuts鈥� of charged particles, or plasma, surrounding Earth, an example of how computer graphics have created more precise and realistic depictions of invisible phenomena. These rings are called Van Allen radiation belts. NASA launched two probes in 2012 to better understand these regions and space weather more widely.
鈥淪cientific illustrations allow the conveyance鈥� of complex scientific concepts,鈥� says Escard脫. 鈥淓ven today鈥� it is still necessary to use illustration as a tool to capture images that can only be made through this medium.鈥�
