JF Ptak Science Books   Post 1030

I thought at first that the detail of the photograph below looked liked Cartesian vortices, as seen in one of these engravings from his (Rene Descarte) Principes de la
Philosophie (1644, basically a treatise on planetary motions).
:

Well, no, of course, these are not vortex representations writ large in the
desert of Tunisia by Nazi German plows. They come close, though.  We’re
looking at a photograph of what is supposed to be an airfield which has
been beautifully plowed under by German sappers, done so to prevent the
airfields being used by British forces subsequent to its abandonment by
retreating German forces.  Looking more closely at the photos though I’m
not sure what this really is–it just doesn’t look quite right.   On
the other hand I don’t see offhand what might be gained if this was
simply a retouched photo used for propaganda

Source:  Illustrated London News, 6 Feb 1943.