honorable mention
Nathan Myhrvold united statesPhoto © Nathan Myhrvold
title
Vitamin Sea
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entry description
In the food world, L-ascorbic acid—also known as vitamin C—is a familiar nutrient that is commonly found in citrus fruits. To create this image, powdered ascorbic acid was first dissolved in water. The sample was then placed on a microscope slide and viewed under polarized light to see the pattern of crystals that formed. Crystallized vitamin C has the quality of birefringence, which means it bends light in multiple directions at once, producing a variegated effect of colors. A near infinite variety of shapes, colors, and textures can appear since no two crystals are the same.back to gallery