Analyzing The Film 'Particle Fever'

Art and science have always been seen as completely separate and opposite studies. Art has always been seen as the display of pictures created by talented artists, while on the other hand, science has always been seen as experiments and research. In the documentary, Particle Fever, the movie brings attention to the different view of the arts and sciences as two interdependent subjects. The director, Dr. David Kaplan, uses the documentary to give his audience an inside view to the world’s largest experiment at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) with the use of the Large Hardon Collider (LHC). The LHC is the world’s largest accelerated. The massive machine accelerates particles into each other in order to see the “God” particle, the Higgs Boson. Throughout the movie, the audience meets many physicists and is walked through their daily lives. These physicists, both experimental and theoretical, discuss the importance of each other and how much each side depends on one another. The same is true for art and …show more content…
Patterns are found in every science experiment, portrait, and composition of music. After the LHC made the particles collide, the physicists noticed these repeating patterns. The patterns created a portrait of bold colors and line which allowed them to detect certain particles, like the Higgs Boson. Dr. Fabiola Guanotti explaines, “There are many similarities between art and physics. Classical music follows rules and patterns of harmonies which are rules and patterns of physics and mathematics” (Guanotti). Artists also enjoy changing sculptures to make it look more in order until they find just the right combination. Physicists also do the same with experiments. They create an order and pattern to make the experiment just how they wanted it to be. Without patterns and a constant order in art and physics, their work would not be able to make sense or would not produce an efficient