Reflections: The enduring sym-biosis between art and science

We have all seen reflections in glass windows every day. We take it for granted. Ever changing angles of light beams dance across the atmosphere bringing reflections of the reality all around us. But in exploring the uniquely charming and magnificent stare miasto (old city) of Krakow in Southern Poland, as well as in Prague and Boston, I have come to realize that the place where silica and simbeams meet –window glass- can be the homes of nature’s elusive poets and poetry... that silica, oxygen, and light combine to often reveal a side of earth, of nature, of us, that is hidden, beautiful, and mysterious. I have known this reflection world existed at the water’s surface, especially on a wind-less sunny day. But its’ expression in the compound silica dioxide, most familiar to us as “window glass”, may be the most revealing. Formed from unimaginable heat emissions of massive stars or supernovae in deep time, these elements actually make up much of our planet’s crust. One can see the reflective properties of silicon in rocks containing quartz minerals. These crystals with origins far in the universe are now commonly a part of windows, framing our lives by protecting and giving us essential and even profound connections to the outside, including our life-giving sun-star. [Contrib Sci 11(2): 249-251 (2015)]