Tuesday, January 17, 2006

E is for..


Echolocation. Bats are amazing.

A bat emits a sound wave and listens carefully to the echoes that return to it. By determining how long it takes a noise to return, the bat's brain figures out how far away an object is.

The bat can also determine where the object is, how big it is and in what direction it is moving. The bat can tell if an insect is to the right or left by comparing when the sound reaches its right ear to when the sound reaches its left ear.

A bat can tell how big an insect is based on the intensity of the echo. A smaller object will reflect less of the sound wave, and so will produce a less intense echo. The bat can sense in which direction the insect is moving based on the pitch of the echo.

http://science.howstuffworks.com

acrylic paint and ink on an 8x10 inch board

16 Comments:

At January 17, 2006 7:04 PM, Blogger Anonymous said...

Great reflective colours and transparency Echoing Echoing Echoing from nearby objects!

 
At January 17, 2006 7:43 PM, Blogger andrea said...

Beautifully layered and pulled together. Love the pumpkins in their discrete "shells".

 
At January 17, 2006 8:42 PM, Blogger Rick Lovell said...

What a cool "E" word...bats rule! And oh, by the way, so does this illustration!

 
At January 18, 2006 10:10 AM, Blogger Sally said...

The detail of the bat is amazing! This is one of my favorites!

 
At January 18, 2006 12:40 PM, Blogger bee'nme said...

Wow - what incredible colors! And a cool, unique take on the topic too! Nice work!

 
At January 18, 2006 2:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

this has got to be the best entry this week.

the colours make my chest hurt.

 
At January 18, 2006 3:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

SO beautiful.
i love the bat and the pumpkins! two of my favorite things!
and you did an incredible job making it look not at ALL halloweenie, you know? i could have gone that way but it's lovely and perfect and would be great for ANY season! :)

 
At January 18, 2006 3:33 PM, Blogger Regina said...

This is excellent! Bats are amazing!! I've been thinking of buying a bat house. It helps them find a home and in return they eat 3,000-7,000 insects. So cool!

 
At January 18, 2006 3:52 PM, Blogger Caroline said...

Brilliant! I wondered about doing echo but I didn't get to echolocation! And I love your painting.

Its fab when clicked on so it fills the screen. Glowing and translucent. And such a dear face on the bat.

 
At January 18, 2006 4:13 PM, Blogger valerie walsh said...

not only informative but an absolutely unique idea for the theme and a beautiful painting to boot! you are a talent!

 
At January 18, 2006 8:10 PM, Blogger Twisselman said...

Great! Wonderfully rich colors (especially the blues of the sky). I agree with Andrea re: the pumpkins... really nice.

 
At January 19, 2006 9:12 AM, Blogger Tony Sarrecchia said...

Wow. I love your use of colors in all your pieces. When does the blue lady story continue?

 
At January 19, 2006 10:06 AM, Blogger carla said...

Yes...I've always found bats to be pretty amazing, very fascinating, but a bit creepy. You've done an amazing job creating the waxy transparency of its wings, all in those beautiful colors you use. I really admire te luminous look of your paint...it has the feeling a many galzed layers.

 
At January 19, 2006 10:08 AM, Blogger carla said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At January 20, 2006 3:44 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

beautiful painting!!

 
At March 03, 2006 4:29 PM, Blogger Dave James said...

Love this one.

Dave

 

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