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This is a tiny tiny tiny (about 0.6mm) ball bearing from a teleconverter I was repairing last night.
It just caught my eye on my desk and got me thinking… Just about every device with moving parts in our life – the microwave oven, the drill, the bicycle, the car, the lens, the clock, the car assembly line, the tanker, the roller skate, the DVD player, the air-conditioning, the JCB crane, etc… – employs this simple engineering feat: the ball bearing.
It couldn’t possibly look any simpler – just a sphere – and yet it is relied upon, for everything from micro-precision movements in hospital operating theaters, to calibrating the accuracy of artillery, to huge mega-ton earth shifting, to a remote control toy car.
Humble, humbling, genius!
[Sony a350, Sigma 105mm macro, f:3.5, 1/2sec.ISO-100 EV +0.7]
My grandfather was a serious amateur photographer in the ’20s and ’30s, leaving me a legacy of stereoscopic pictures and equipment. The bug passed through the genes to my father and to me. I started taking pictures seriously when I was 11 and I spent most of my teenage years in and out of the darkroom. University, work and kids put photography on pause but my first digital camera in 2006 re-kindled my interest. RB has given me a vehicle for sharing my work and for learning so much.
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Comments
yes indeed…. & you’ve captured it so well George :))
Many thanks Rosemary :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
wow George!
beautiful macro work my friend!
Many thanks John, I appreciate it! :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
Love this George, great description and image! :-) Couldn’t agree more on the BB’s role! :-)
Yep, it’s ubiquitous! Thank you very much my friend :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
True. It is so invisible and yet ubiquitous.
Ode to a BB is what I’ll call this one!
LOL – thanks Vikram :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
excellent work
Thanks Steve :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
Wonderful shot!
Thank you so much for the featuring! I really appreciate it :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
Beautiful Shot!
Thanks Nathalie :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
Excellent work George! Amazing how the smallest of things can change the world :)
Too true! And how much technology we just take for granted. Many thanks Ursula :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
Clever spotting, good shot, excellent commentary.
Thank you, one tries… :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)
Cool idea for an image! Your macro work is always so spot on :)
Thank you my dear :-)
– George Parapadakis (monocotylidono)