Counters of Relativity

2024

Light installation

Technique: microcontroller, wire, 7-segment LED displays, 3D-printed parts, metal structure, clockwork sound spiral, solenoid

Dimensions: 0.2m x 0.2m x 2m

The concept of this installation was inspired by an experiment conducted in 1971. Physicist Joseph C. Hafele and astronomer Richard E. Keating were the first to observe the relativity of time as described by the theory of relativity. They found that several highly accurate cesium-beam atomic clocks—compared to stationary reference units—showed differences after being transported on high-speed flights, consistent with the predictions of relativity.

The Counter of Relativity symbolically reflects on the relativity of time. The installation consists of 32 identical but independent subunits, all running the same code. The sole task of each microcontroller is to increment its displayed value from zero as fast as possible. Meanwhile, an independent unit strikes a mechanical clock chime spiral at regular intervals, producing a resonating sound while repeatedly stopping and restarting the identical counters.

Given that the counters are all started simultaneously upon activation, one would expect them to display the same values at any given moment. However, minute differences between the subunits and their environments—such as variations in electronics, cabling, or temperature—result in an unexpected effect: the numbers slowly diverge from each other, revealing subtle discrepancies within the system. Just as such discrepancies surround us in the fabric of spacetime, affecting or generated by our changing speed relative to the system, they shape our daily lives in profound ways.

Exhibited:

 • Our Unlikely Coordinates, Szikra Art Gallery, Budapest, Hungary, 12/09/2024 - 02/11/2024

 • Floating in Space-time – Continuously Shifting Coordinates, King St. Stephen Museum, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, 07/06/2024 - 01/09/2024