Daniel Chamberlin
untitled (lead glance) (2020)
digital photo collage
8.5 in x 8.5 in

untitled (lead glance) (2020) is a collage of photographs of galena crystals. The work represents the tangible vibrations of terrestrial radio: Waves transmitted through Earth’s atmosphere for anyone in range to receive.

In 1894 Indian physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose was the first to use galena – a common sulfide mineral also known as lead glance – for detecting radio waves. In the 1920s this technology was adapted for crystal radios, simple unamplified receivers that played a role in the popularization of broadcast radio. 

This collage was created with photos of galena crystals taken by mineral collector Rob Lavinsky (iRocks.com) and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. This work is offered under the same Creative Commons Attribution terms.

This image was created for the 2021 Indiana Public Radio calendar.