Science In Art Lab

Catalog description

This course, intended to serve the Rome program, explores both the science of art and architecture and the science depicted in art and architecture. The first part of the course will focus on engineering. Specifically, engineering principles will be explored through a study of structures such as the Pantheon, aqueducts, the Colosseum, and Brunelleschi\2019s dome, as well as through a study of several of Leonardo da Vinci\2019s inventions. The second part of the course will focus on astronomy. In particular, the astronomical observations that drove the Copernican revolution will be explored though the use of the meridian line in the Church or Santa Maria degli Angeli (in Rome), and enriched through a visit to Giordano Bruno\2019s statue in the Campo de\2019 Fiori and Michelangelo\2019s The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel. The last part of the course will focus on physics. Basic physics principles will be used to understand the structural issues that put Michelangelo\2019s David in peril and why the acoustics in Roman amphitheaters are so good (with the one in Ostia Antica serving as our laboratory). Finally, modern physics principles will be explored to understand how \201Chidden text\201D in ancient writings and early paintings by great masters can be uncovered using particle accelerations. Co-requisites: PHYS126 Course Attributes: Nat Sci Elect/Integration Lab, Quantitative Reason Flag Pt. 2, Scientific Persp/Explore Lab College of Arts & Sciences Physics & Engineering