Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)

Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard prepares for a test flight of the solar-powered Solar Impulse 2 experimental aircraft in Payerne November 13, 2014. The aircraft, weighing 2.4 tons with a wingspan of 72 meters, is fitted with more than 17,000 solar cells. An attempt to fly around the world in stages using only solar energy will be made in 2015. (Photo by Ruben Sprich/Reuters)

Jenny Odell repurposes online imagery mostly from Google Maps, but also from YouTube, Craigslist, and other sites. In her “Satellite Collections”, for example, she incorporated aerial views of swimming pools, basketball courts, parking lots, and other recognizable structures, seen from space. Her more recent series, “Satellite Landscapes”, includes painstakingly isolated Google Maps imagery of oil refineries, wastewater treatment plants, solar farms, etc. This work is meant as a reminder of our physically determined and vulnerable existence, since we depend on many of these things for survival and maintenance of our way of life. Photo: Natural gas plant in Pittsburg, CA (detail of Power Landscape), 2013. (Photo by Jenny Odell)

French riot police officers sprays pepper gas at a demonstrator during a protest against Labor Law as the Socialist government decided to force the bill through Parliament without a vote, in Paris, Thursday, May 12, 2016. France's government is facing a major test as lawmakers hold a no-confidence vote, prompted by a deeply divisive labor law allowing longer workdays and easier layoffs. (Photo by Christophe Ena/AP Photo)

A municipal police officer throws a stone back at protesting residents of Kampung Pulo after clashes erupted during an eviction in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 20, 2015 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Residents facing eviction from a flood-prone part of Indonesia's capital of Jakarta clashed with police on Thursday, prompting security forces to fire tear gas and water cannon. (Photo by Muhammad Adimaja/Reuters/Antara Foto)

A woman holding a girl walks as police officers block the street during a rally called by the opposition leader Raila Odinga who claims the last Kenyan presidential election was stolen from him and blames the government for the hike of living costs in Kibera, Nairobi on March 27, 2023. Police fired tear gas to disperse anti-government protests on March 27, 2023 over the high cost of living, after the opposition vowed demonstrations would go ahead despite a police ban. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

Ratko Mladic makes his first appearance at the International Criminal Tribunal on June 3, 2011 in The Hague, Netherlands. Ex-Bosnian Serb army leader Ratko Mladic will make his first appearance at The Hague war crimes tribunal after being declared fit to stand trial. Mladic was arrested a week ago after going into hiding for the past 16 years and is charged with atrocities committed during the Bosnian war. (Photo Serge Ligtenberg/Getty Images )

Girls prepare to take part in a mermaid lesson in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil May 28, 2017. Women in Brazil are not unique in their affinity for mermaiding. Classes are held as far away as Texas and some folks wonder if mermaiding will be the next fitness craze. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)