Vol.04 Global Gallery at the National Museum of Nature and Science

How have we decided the “units” for measuring things? It seems to relate to historical background.

Here I learned that the “m (meter)” was the first common worldwide unit. At first, the length from the earth’s poles to the equator was measured and 1 ten millionth of that length was set as 1 meter. Currently, 1 meter is determined based on the speed of light for making it even more accurate.

Measuring the temperature probably first started in a German steel mill where temperature management was needed to produce fine quality steel. Research work on heat and energy by Max Planck gave rise to the concept of the “quantum.” This concept brought about a drastic and basic change in how we see the world of nature.

The speed of light was first measured in 1876 and since then various kinds of technology and measuring devices have been tried. In 1983 the speed of light in a vacuum was set at 299,792,458 meters per second. The photograph shows a geodimeter and optical distance meter used to measure distance based on the speed of light.

Though we usually aren’t even aware of it, “gravity” is a strange phenomenon. Gravity is a very weak force acting on all objects, but it cannot be blocked and exerts effects even on far-away totally empty spaces. This is a super interesting description.

A brief look at the KEKB accelerator, Belle detector and experiments made to explore the world of elementary particles.

This is the Belle experiment device that won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for Dr. Makoto Kobayashi and Dr. Toshihide Masukawa. The theory of “CP violation” in physics was proven in experiments made using this device.

This example shows particle trajectories captured by the Belle detector. The bent lines reveal the particle momentum and charge. The scientists who poured all their effort and passion into thinking up this approach are really great!

This exhibit shows the Super-Kamiokande that observes neutrino particles and photomultiplier tubes installed within the huge tank of the Super-Kamiokande. This experiment clearly proved that the neutrino particle does in fact have mass.

Can we see elementary particles flying around with this “cloud chamber”!? By peering inside the cloud chamber you can see lines composed of small air bubbles moving around like mist that looks extremely curious. After reading the description you find that cosmic rays, electrons and protons are reacting together inside the chamber and each are forming their own particle track. It is really hard to sense that this is real, but elementary particles are actually flying around in our world. This is very interesting!

This exhibit shows a replica of the telescope used by Galileo when he first viewed outer space in 1600’s, along with a replica of Newton’s telescope. In the 400 year period since that time to the present, the “eyes” for viewing outer space now include optical telescopes, radio telescopes, astronomical satellites and underground observatories for observing cosmic rays and elementary particles. By detecting and observing various types of light, radio waves, and elementary particles, a new image of the universe unlike anything seen before is emerging to make things clearer than ever before.

This is a three-dimensional model showing the layout of the Galaxy where we reside. This figure was made clearer and more detailed by using infrared rays and radio waves for observation of far-off stars and gases.

This is a miniature model of the Subaru Telescope operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The Subaru Telescope has the world’s largest monolithic primary mirror with a diameter of 8.2 meters. To observe the universe farther and in greater detail, it uses infrared light that is not disturbed by gas in the universe and makes continuous observations to search out the history of the universe from its start to expansion. I would like to go there and see this sometime!

This exhibit lets you see celestial bodies just by pointing the telescope to the Milky Way. You can also switch images to view them under different wavelengths of light. Various shapes of celestial bodies have been discovered by making use of the characteristics of light at different wavelengths.

The matter that makes up our world all consists of a total of 118 chemical elements. This exhibit shows the periodic table of chemical elements along with the actual samples of elements. In 2019, this exhibit will get a great deal of attention since 2019 is "the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements" that commemorates the 150th anniversary of Mendeleev's discovery that the elements have cyclic properties.

This is a picture of Alice drawn using the symbols of chemical elements. This kind of picture makes you want to go to “Alice’s Wonderland” full of surprises. Imagine the feelings of a scientist 150 years ago who knew the secret that there really are tiny worlds of fixed regularity in the material within our own world. I realized that science is a dream that comes true!

The molecule is the smallest unit for determining the properties of an object. But these 118 kinds of elements can be combined in a broad range of ways to create nearly infinite molecular diversity. Light is a powerful tool for investigating that diversity.

Models of electron clouds that determine the properties of an atom. I have never actually seen an atomic nuclei or an electron but I can now imagine it would look like this.

In today’s world, we can produce a wide variety of diverse substances and materials, yet these materials also place a load on the global environment. Creating a sustainable world will require us to share all types of knowledge and challenge each other to find solutions. In the world of science, there are plenty of interesting and challenging tasks!