> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.protein.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Visualising Electromagnetic Fields
- URL: https://www.protein.xyz/visualising-electromagnetic-fields/
- Published: 2013-07-11T09:14:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-05-28T11:01:00.000Z
- Description: 'Light paintings' that reveal the invisible electromagnetic fields emanating from our household gadgets.
- Author: Protein
- Tags: Seeds, Technology, #protein, #Import 2024-06-11 13:25, #author-change-2025-05-28

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/71/fc716215-5729-441a-bd07-e2b50bc413b1/content/images/S3/protein/9435/4b24d88a-f6bf-4218-b30a-838cab776c28.jpeg)

To most of us, what goes on inside our favourite gadgets is nothing short of a mystery. But what about the things that take place externally, the things we can't see? As part of a [Copenhagen Institute Of Interaction Design](http://ciid.dk/?ref=protein.xyz) workshop that called on students to make visible invisible everyday phenomena, [Luke Sturgeon](http://lukesturgeon.co.uk/?ref=protein.xyz) and [Shamik Ray ](http://www.shamikray.com/index.htm?ref=protein.xyz)created a series of 'light paintings' that make electromagnetic fields of everyday devices observable by the naked eye. Through a series of experiments employing stop-frame animation and long-exposure photography techniques, the interaction designers customised an Android phone and coded an app in [Processing](http://processing.org/?ref=protein.xyz) to visually represent the EMFs radiating from laptops, cassette players and such. The images are eerie and ethereal, and demonstrate a wonderful symbiosis between science and art. But what makes this project so excting is its foregrounding of a new way to start seeing, and understanding, objects we take for granted.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/71/fc716215-5729-441a-bd07-e2b50bc413b1/content/images/S3/protein/9435/811a1e04-68dc-483c-ba18-7bf66656474e.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/71/fc716215-5729-441a-bd07-e2b50bc413b1/content/images/S3/protein/9435/4f5d7ac5-8db4-47d0-86cd-6509b2327697.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/71/fc716215-5729-441a-bd07-e2b50bc413b1/content/images/S3/protein/9435/5f57e143-c827-472f-bf3f-143837a8f116.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/71/fc716215-5729-441a-bd07-e2b50bc413b1/content/images/S3/protein/9435/5c8b6911-2746-454a-be6b-455e3ea4cb59.jpeg)