Ballistisch onderzoek van een kogel en een kanonskogel tijdens de vlucht before 1891

This is "Ballistic study of a bullet and a cannonball in flight", created by Ernst and Ludwig Mach using photography. Here we see an early example of scientific visualization, revealing a fleeting event. The photographs capture shockwaves using the ‘Schlieren’ technique – making density variations visible through light refraction. It’s not fine art, but rather photography in service of physics, ballistics in particular. Consider the implications: the design of weaponry. The images have a stark beauty, but that aesthetic effect emerges directly from their intended purpose of military advancement. What distinguishes this from, say, a drawing of weaponry? Photography offered a new kind of evidentiary authority. The images create a seemingly objective record, while also implying the awesome power of modern artillery, and the labor involved in its production. In short, this ballistic study sits at the intersection of art, science, and military-industrial progress.