The Indigestible

The sequel to Postergasm I, here I drop various images of various things for various purposes. As with the first post the high-res versions are optimized to print on an 11 x 17 sheet — not exactly movie-poster size, but large enough to be noticeable.

After the fold, miscellaneous posters along with descriptions. Enjoy!

For starters we have the electromagnetic spectrum. This is actually a cut/copy/paste job of something originally done in Canada. The graphics were the biggest reason I used it, though eventually I think I’ll replace it with something larger and with better resolution.

Electromagnetic spectrum PDF, 1.8 MB

Every once in a while you’ll hear someone claim that they have a mystical power that uses an energy “unknown to science”. The electromagnetic spectrum calls bullshit.

The EM spectrum is one of the ways we know there’s no such thing as chi energy, or the stuff that Reiki is supposed to work with — there are no gaps in the spectrum wherein some kind of spooky action-at-a-distance energy might be found.

Next we have some mosaics from HST. The first one combines the spectacular imagery of an erupting star with a hell of a fine shot of M31, the large spiral galaxy in Andromeda.

Hubble mosaic (1) PDF, 5.8 MB

This second mosaic combines the Crab nebula (a supernova remnant) with a dense cluster of galaxies — in Hercules, if memory serves. In the lower image, almost every object is a galaxy. Think about that.

Hubble mosaic (2) PDF, 7 MB

The penultimate image is a famous one — the periodic table of the elements, graphically. Each element is presented as a photo object, not simply as a dry list of numbers indicating atomic weight and so on.

The PTE is how we know there aren’t “unknown metals” or similar silliness from SF (as in, “The alien spaceship’s hull is made of an alloy completely unknown to us!”). As with the EM spectrum, there’s no room for unknown elements to exist, not even in the transuranics. (This one is a JPEG; right-click to open it full-size in another window.)

Finally, the poster that began it all — something from the Depression-era Works Progress Administration advising New York residents to keep their living areas clean.

Keep your premises clean PDF, 1.1 MB

This poster is great from the ironic perspective — the idea of blaming tenement residents for the squalor in which they live, rather than the ruinous rent they’re charged or their landlords’ unwillingness to take on maintenance, is classic Voice of Privilege.

And of course, for something to be hung up in a kid’s room, it’s just ideal.