Microcosmos

  • Brandon Broll
Firefly Books: 2007. 1554072379 | ISBN: 1-554-07237-9

German biologist Ernst Haeckel branded radiolarians — tiny seawater plankton — one of the “art forms of nature”, an accolade borne out under the scrutiny of the scanning electron microscope almost a century later. These single-celled animals come in a variety of intricate shapes, as shown in this image of a radiolarian shell. It is one from a striking collection of micrographs assembled by the Science Photo Library for Microcosmos by Brandon Broll (Firefly Books, 2007).

The book includes some 200 images, taken at up to 22 million times magnification, of subjects drawn from biology, mineralogy and technology. Readers can marvel at pictures of a hummingbird hawkmoth's tongue and of nanowires just ten atoms wide, of exotic gallstone crystals, butterfly scales and hairy gecko feet. Although kettle scale and a wound dressing in filigree may be a step too far into the microcosmos, there is wonder lurking in these too.

The micrographs are showcased with cunning digital artistry to impart colour. In places this borders on the fanciful (garish crystals of vitamin C and a Siberian microdiamond), but otherwise brings the pictures sharply to life.