Required Viewing: "Powers of Ten"

If you've never seen the classic short "Powers of Ten," I've got a treat for you. Created in 1968 for IBM by Charles and Ray Eames (yes, of Eames Chair fame), the film has a very simple premise: start at a static scene, then start zooming out, at one "power of ten" per ten seconds -- for example, from 10² meters to 10³ meters. As we zoom out, we see the earth, the solar system, the galaxy, and so forth. Once we reach 10²⁴ meters (the size of the observable universe), the camera then begins a faster zoom-in...and goes beyond the original scene, into the microscopic scale and beyond.

For me, "Powers of Ten" is an educational touchstone -- it's a film I was shown several times in science classrooms, and to this day, I find it captivating in its simplicity and power. All you do is zoom way out and zoom way in -- the universe is just a matter of perspective.

For more, check out "Powers of Ten" on Wikipedia, and the official "Powers of Ten" website.

(Thanks to Kottke.org for pointing to this YouTube clip!)