Frozen MotionJoachim VogelAward: Top 100
School: avon old farms school This photo was taken at 1 am in Montreal, Canada, in temperatures well below freezing. A long shutter exposure was used, and a phone flashlight was slowly traced across the frame. What resulted looks like the light was frozen in space from the cold temperatures, purely paradoxical, of course. From a thermodynamic perspective, the lack of thermal energy results in lower molecular motion. As temperatures drop, molecules lose kinetic energy and settle into a more compact and ordered state. The air becomes denser, and molecular motion slows down. The snow, present all around the frame, is not just frozen water, but truly matter that has lost enough energy to transform itself into a locked crystalline structure. This example reflects how energy is transferred to the surroundings during cooling, leading to increased order in the snow itself. The camera also does something similar in this image. Using a longer shutter speed made the device capture all incoming light for several seconds, and then collapse it into a single "frozen" frame. The light trail was never stationary; it was made by walking, yet the photograph makes it look as if it were suspended in place. In both cases, whether it is the cold reducing molecular motion or the camera freezing a moment in time, the result appears similar: movement becomes stillness, and energy becomes something you can look at. 
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