As part of a session on “Seeing Science” at the 2008 AAAS conference, Chris Johnson, director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute at the University of Utah, presented examples of the cutting edge visualizations being produced by his group. They ranged from interactive anatomical models to transparent 3D renderings of a Boeing 777 engine, but my personal favorites came from the Center for the Simulation of Accidental Fires and Explosions (C-SAFE).
The simulation below ran for about 3 days on a 600 processor Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory supercomputer and generated 170 individual time steps, each with 80x80x300 cells and 1.1 million particles. The 3D interactive image is a visual representation of that data, achieved using a real-time ray tracer. Johnson says these sorts of visualizations owe a lot to “13 year olds playing video games” because the success of graphics-intensive blockbusters like the Halo franchise is the driving force behind innovation in fast graphics cards.
In addition to being wicked cool to look at, the work has real-world applications for the handing and storage of combustible materials.
And now, some kick ass pyrotechnics.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=&rel=1
Video courtesy Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, University of Utah
