# image (visual)

a visual thing that shows a thing

- Computed level: L8 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: visual  ·  Arena: image

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [pattern](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-pattern.regularity), [energy](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-energy.capacity), [matter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-matter.substance), [show](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-show.visual), [visual](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-visual.perceptual)

**Through:** regular patterns of energy are on matter and are a visual thing that makes something be seen through marks on a surface

**Novel properties:**
- visible representation
- spatial pattern encoding
- surface-based perception

## Examples
- The Hubble Space Telescope captured the Pillars of Creation in 1995, revealing star-forming regions in the Eagle Nebula. *(astronomy)*
- A mirror in a London bathroom shows a person’s face each morning, reflecting visible light in real time. *(everyday life)*
- An MRI machine generates cross-sectional images of a patient’s brain using magnetic fields and radio waves. *(medicine)*

## Used by
- [camera](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-camera.visual) (L12)
- [movies](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-movies.entertainment) (L13)
- [screen](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-screen.visual) (L18)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-image.visual*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-image.visual.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*