TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Blending science with spectacle, the world premiere of “Sal” at the National Taichung Theater will immerse audiences in stunning black hole visuals crafted from advanced astrophysical simulations.
Italian art studio fuse*, in collaboration with astrophysicists from Belgium and Canada's universities, has created immersive imagery inspired by the behavior of light and matter near a black hole’s event horizon. Two performances will be held on Saturday and Sunday.
“Sal” is divided into five chapters. Each uses distinct visual language and precise scientific simulations to explore the phenomena of light and matter near a black hole.
In the first chapter, “Revelation – Twilight Sleep,” the performance begins in the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep. The visuals were created with Foort software, originally designed to simulate the gravitational lensing effect of black holes, warping light and perception.
In the second chapter, “Abyss – Ground Dissolves into Water,” the performance portrays the collapse of both body and mind through fluid, disorienting visuals. The visuals, inspired by plasma dynamics, show how charged particles interact with magnetic fields, drawing on simulations from the black hole accretion code (BHAC).
The third chapter, “Time Slips – Water Dissolves into Fire,” symbolizes the transformation from fluidity to flame, capturing the intensity of emotions. The visuals focus on magnetic reconnection, a phenomenon near a black hole’s edge.
The team employed the Harris current sheet configuration, a model based on the Maxwell–Vlasov equations, to simulate the chaotic energy interactions near the black hole. Maxwell–Vlasov equations, which describe the collective behavior of charged particles in a plasma, play a crucial role in simulating how these extreme energy phenomena unfold.
Chapter four, “Sparkling – Fire Dissolves into Air,” continues the elemental transition, with flames giving way to air. The visual structures collapse into fluid forms, representing a shift from order to disorder, mirroring the dissolution from flame to vapor.
The final chapter, “Breath – Air Dissolves into Space,” opens in profound silence, with only the sound of breath remaining. Visuals based on the Fishbone and Moncrief torus model depict a ring of plasma orbiting a black hole.
BHAC renders the data into a three-dimensional experience, using color gradients to illustrate plasma density.
To enhance the spatial experience, fuse* had integrated multiple simulation tools. The visuals were created using Foort software, designed to simulate the gravitational lensing effect of black holes and distort light and perception, while RAPTOR traces the paths of photons passing through plasma density fields.
As the viewer’s perspective draws closer to the black hole’s core, the photon ring slowly emerges, representing the glowing remnants of light trapped in an eternal orbit. This “gravitational eye” not only symbolizes the depths of space but also evokes profound themes of memory, silence, and eternity.
