Smaller violin in the world is thinner than hair. It’s not a joke – it has a lot of use

It has only 13 microns wide, but it can help improve computing efficiency. This violin is music for scientists’ ears.

A team of more recent investigators nanolithography – Record patterns on as much as possible materials – to create a violin design with only 13 microns wide. It is thinner than human hair.

If it looks like a strange joke or a waste of time, you are wrong. It is a very useful piece for science. As explained by, the new creation It demonstrates how the next generation of electronic devices can be done.

“When we understand how materials behave, we can begin to apply this knowledge to develop new technologies, whether it is improve computing efficiency Or find new ways to capture energy, ”says experimental physics Kelly Morrison of Loughborough University.

“But first, we need to understand fundamental science and this system allows us to do it.”

The one published by the University of Loughborough explains that the construction of this violin was done through the use of a extremely thin and heated needle to draw the violin pattern in a chip covered with a polymer.

Despite its tiny size, its production occupies an entire room. The equipment includes a sculpting machine called nanofrazorwhich is closed in a glove box to keep the dust away and other particles.

“I am very enthusiastic about the level of control and the possibilities we have with the installation,” comments Morrison. “I’m looking forward to seeing what I can achieve – but also what everyone can do with the system.”

“Although the creation of the smallest violin in the world may seem fun, much of what we have learned in the process has launched the foundations for the investigation we are now to do,” he says.

“Our nanolitography system allows us to conceive experiences that investigate materials in different ways-using light, magnetism or electricity-and observing their reactions.”