Wave Function

Mixed Media 60” x 24”
2005

Extended Description / Conceptual

The Wave Function Described and Exposed to its Natural Counterpart for a Period of 48 Hours

The Wave Function Described and Exposed to its Natural Counterpart for a Period of 48 Hours (Wave Function) is both a physical object and a series of events.

My work deals with issues arising from my study of Quantum Mechanics and Chaos Theory, specifically the interaction between phenomena that combine to create / cause what I call Quantum Evaporation.

Simply stated, there exist theoretical events called Quantum Fluctuations in which empty space ripples creating two objects: a particle and its anti-particle. These Fluctuations might well result in the two created objects smashing into each other and disappearing back into empty space leaving the laws of physics unbroken, i.e. mass can neither be created nor destroyed. However, a more hypothetical situation can be postulated in which the event occurs immediately on the event horizon of a black hole. In this scenario, if the fluctuation/creation/destruction sequence is interrupted by another particle diving into the black hole at the speed of light, one part of the pair might be knocked into the black hole and the other part of the pair into escape velocity. The particle, thus liberated. could then contribute to an effect known as the quantum glow of a black hole.

The mechanism by which this would occur is similar to what happens in less exotic situations and is described as entropy. I had been struggling with the problem of entropy as it applied to my paintings. Specifically, I felt that my process had been a seeking of the highest perfection possible in the finished surface of my works. This, by the laws of Nature, inevitably led to frustration, as perfect forms do not exist in Nature, rather in the realm of Ideals. Whatever perfection I did manage to achieve began to degrade almost immediately - fingerprints left marks, edges were bonked, scrapes were made here and there. I realized that even if my paintings were left in vacuum, bits and pieces would evaporate into space, quantum action would cause atoms to dissolve into component parts. All efforts at preservation were doomed in the very far long run. I decided to express these concepts in this painting.

In processing numerous ideas on how to accomplish this, I narrowed my thinking to creating a painting that would chart the possible location of electrons in orbit around nuclei in a water molecule; in other words, its wave function.. Because the exact location of electrons is never known precisely, I used blocks of solid color show possible locations and different colors to show electrons from different nuclei. The border between atoms runs diagonally downwards from left to right. This “line” also describes, mathematically, an ocean wave in a theoretical application of Chaos theory. Just as the precise location of an electron can never be known, the precise location of an ocean wave can never be known. It would be impossible to measure the size of a wave precisely either. This piece I called Wave Function, but never felt finished as the central idea of entropy was not being expressed.

The answer came to me while walking on the beach with my wife, As she collected bits of painted wood that had washed ashore, she remarked on the beauty of the pieces and brought a few home. They sat in the studio we share and while working I kept returning to those scraps of wood, thinking about entropy. At the same time, I noticed while studying a local tide chart that the highest and lowest tides for the year 2005 were soon to occur in the same 24 hour period. I decided to expose a piece of my work to maximum entropy in order to see what one of my pieces might look like after a thousand years of careful preservation. This piece, formerly known as Wave Function, was an obvious choice.

Immediately prior to the lowest ebb tide, I chained the painting to a driftwood tree trunk to expose it to maximum extremes of available tides … the highest tide of the year would follow 18 hours later. My plan was to return to the same spot roughly 24 hours after the high tide had passed to recover the painting. When I returned to retrieve the painting, however, it was nowhere to be found. I eventually located it buried in a mound of kelp, buzzing with flies. After wiping the painting down, it did appear somewhat abused but still did not have the weathered look I was seeking. So, I repeated the procedure. The next day, I returned and discovered again that the painting was gone. This time however, my search for it seemed futile. I amused myself with thoughts of what one would think to find my painting washed ashore at some later date and what it might look like. Then I noticed an object floating some 20 yards off shore. As I got closer I realized it was my painting. I sat for a while meditating on its nonchalant up and down movements, hoping that the tide would bring it in closer to the shore. Eventually, it came a bit closer to shore so I waded out to retrieve it.

On this second day, I found the effect I was looking for and felt that entropy was being expressed. In addition, I felt it expressed a central aspect of chaos theory. Unknowingly, in my attempt to marry the wave function of a water molecule to the wave function of the Pacific Ocean, I had set up an experiment in Fractals. The lower left edge of the wood panel eroded away and now loosely depicts the pacific coast from Bolinas, CA northward. The lowest screw head on the left marks the location of my studio. It is possible to identify the Bolinas Lagoon below, i.e. to the south, Point Reyes, Tomales Bay, Anchor Bay, Crater Lake, a screw marks Portland, another marks Seattle with its bays and Vancouver to the north.

Thus, the piece shows sub-atomic particles, ocean waves and the Earth from space.