Tony Greer / Special FX Neon's Gallery

Two of the things that intrigue me most are light and glass. Each one is fascinating on its own, but when these elements are combined they have the potential to become something uniquely beautiful. For me, this is the perfect marriage of science and art, as I find many of the phenomena in physics, as well as nature intrinsically beautiful.

Light is pure energy, that can bring with it warmth and illumination that makes life possible. One of the most fascinating sources of light comes from an ionized gas or vapor, such as in a neon tube, lightning or even the aurora borealis. All of these involve the fourth state of matter...plasma.

Glass seems a perfect match for the magical glow of plasma, for many reasons. Physically, it has all the right requirements to contain the gas and allow the light to escape. Aesthetically, it is unmatched in its ability to capture the eye with the way it reflects, refracts and transmitts light. When used together, they can create something strangely beautiful and unusual.