What remains when a delicate flower on a steel base is exposed to the shock wave of an explosive blast? A new exhibition in the foyer of terra mineralia shows the astonishing results of an unusual series of experiments in the underground laboratory of the Freiberg High-Pressure Research Centre.
145 metres underground, Dr Thomas Schlothauer, mineralogist and shock wave expert at the Freiberg High Pressure Research Centre (FHP), arranges various meadow flowers with stems and leaves on a stainless steel carrier plate. On top of this is a soft plastic mat, a layer of plastic explosive a few millimetres thick and a thin sheet of plywood. Finally, everything is weighted down with bricks. Schlothauer attaches the detonator and the electric ignition cable, then everyone leaves the blast chamber.
During the subsequent blast, the detonation spreads across the explosive layer and runs through it lengthwise. The plastic mat is abruptly pressed against the steel plate at a pressure of several tens of thousands of bar. "At the points where the leaves and stems of the plant lie in between, the shock wave is delayed and attenuated. This has a locally weaker effect on the underlying steel. While not much more remains of the flowers, leaves and stems after the blast than soot scattered in the blast chamber, their sharply detailed embossed image on the steel base emerges in relief," explains Schlothauer's colleague, Dr Marcus Schwarz from the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, who is also a member of the FHP.
The inspiration for this unusual method of creating "still lifes" came to Mr Schlothauer a few years ago during one of his numerous business trips abroad to a host institute. Back in Freiberg, he then developed these idea further in the FHP's underground shock wave laboratory in the teaching and research mine into a sophisticated technique for blasting plants and other objects that can be laid out flat in metal plates. The works of art created using this technique have already met with a very positive response both within the Bergakademie and beyond.
Exhibition now in the foyer of terra mineralia
The FHP team is now exhibiting four seasonal plant reliefs created using this explosive embossing technique in the foyer of terra mineralia from 6 December 2025 to 28 June 2026 under the motto "Exploded flowers - quattro stagioni". Visitors will receive information about an important part of scientific research at the Freiberg High-Pressure Research Centre.
The project creatively illustrates the use of high-pressure technology and explosives, which is technologically indispensable in many respects.
