Solid Gallery

Gallstones, artwork

Gallstones. Cutaway computer artwork showing gallstones (brown, lower left) in a human gall bladder (red, oval). The gall bladder is a small muscular sac lying under the liver (not seen). It expels bile (a fat emulsifier) into the intestine through the bile duct (tube, lower right). Gallstones are hard deposits of salts or cholesterol that form in the gall bladder when the chemical composition of bile is upset. They are most common in women, the elderly and the obese. They usually cause no symptoms unless one becomes stuck in the bile duct, which can lead to acute pain, jaundice and infection. Surgical removal of the gall bladder is sometimes necessary

© GUNILLA ELAM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Three states of matter, ice, water, steam

States of matter. Illustration showing three states of matter for water; solid (ice), liquid (water) and gas (steam). The state of matter (or phase) of a substance depends on the ambient temperature and pressure. At any combination, there is a dynamic equilibrium between two or more phases. Water at a temperature of 0. 072 Celsius and an ambient pressure of 612 Pascal has a dynamic equilibrium between all three phases - this is known as its triple point. A fourth phase, the plasma, exists at extremely high temperatures and is normally seen only in elements

© MEHAU KULYK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Dead woodcock

3573756 Dead woodcock by Boselli, Felice (1650-1732); Museum of Still Life, deposits, Poggio a Caiano, Florence, Tuscany, Italy; (add.info.: Formerly kept in storage at Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Now in the Museum of Still Life (Natura Morta).
Artist: Boselli, Felice
Date of Artwork: 1670 ca.-1732
Location: Palazzo Pitti, deposits, Florence
Photographer: Tatge, George for Alinari); Alinari Archives, Florence - Reproduced with the permission of Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali

© Alinari Archives, Florence - Reproduced with the permission of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali / Bridgeman Images