Scientists have long been fascinated by Vincent van Gogh’s iconic painting, Starry Night. But recently, researchers from China and France took their admiration to the next level by analyzing the swirling colors and shapes in the painting to see how closely they match up with known atmospheric physics.
The team found that not only did the shapes in the painting match up with our current understanding of atmospheric turbulence, but the colors used also communicated fairly accurate physics at a remarkably small scale. This discovery has left scientists excited about the possibility that Van Gogh had an innate sense of how to capture the dynamism of the sky.
The researchers compared the 14 main shapes in the painting to Kolmogorov’s theory, which helps narrow down the concept of an energy cascade – the way energy transfers from large-scale patterns to smaller ones. They found that the direction of the first main swirl has less and less impact on the other branching swirls as they get smaller.
The team also used the relative brightness or luminance of the paint colors as a stand-in for the kinetic energy of physical movement, which allowed them to complete a more in-depth analysis of the piece. They found that the relative brightnesses of colors used in the piece aligned well with a framework that describes movement and energy transfer on the smallest scales, known as Batchelor’s scaling.
Seeing both Batchelor’s scaling and Kolmogorov’s theory brought to life in the painting was extremely exciting for the scientists behind the study. The fact that Van Gogh was able to capture this movement in 1889 is a remarkable feat, especially considering his lack of formal training in physics or art.
Capturing the feeling of a clear night sky has always been the hallmark of impressionist paintings, and Starry Night does it exceptionally well. But now we know that there’s more to this painting than just its beauty – it also accurately captures the physics of atmospheric turbulence and energy transfer.
Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a62230927/van-gogh-starry-night-physics/