http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/space_gear-1.html
Nano Wine Glass
Perfect for a Jewish couple planning a "small" June wedding is the nanoscale wine glass from Japan. Or rather, perhaps the Lilliputian creation is more suited to the groom who fears commitment: it’s unlikely that anyone will actually hear the celebration-inaugurating crunch of the glass under the lucky man’s heel, which is 20,000 times smaller than its normal-sized counterparts.
The 2,750-nanometer glass (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, which in the American measuring system is "very, very small") is a demonstration project by partners NEC, the Himeji Institute of Technology and Seiko Instruments Inc. for a three-dimensional manufacturing technique that might be applied to next-generation electronics. The glass, like the fancier spiral stem for a champagne flute pictured here too, is made from carbon suspended in a gas intersected by a computer-controlled gallium-focused ion beam. The beam is 10 nanometers wide and aimed by deflecting it off of electromagnetic fields. Following instructions rooted in computer-aided design, the beam positions the carbon into the form desired. Real world applications of the 3-D manufacturing technique might include ultra-miniature devices such as biosensors, microscopic exploratory robotic components, tiny drug-release capsules, high-performance optical communications devices and control switches, as well as tiny instruments for electromechanics, and magnetic devices.
NEC also suggests the process might lead to cyborgian "bio-nanochips." Banana chips? Yum. Sounds like a nice snack for a wedding where "the food is awful and the portions are so small!"
http://www.nec.com
-- Erik Baard, Technology Correspondent
Know something cool that should be included in this section? E-mail us .
Nano Wine Glass
Perfect for a Jewish couple planning a "small" June wedding is the nanoscale wine glass from Japan. Or rather, perhaps the Lilliputian creation is more suited to the groom who fears commitment: it’s unlikely that anyone will actually hear the celebration-inaugurating crunch of the glass under the lucky man’s heel, which is 20,000 times smaller than its normal-sized counterparts.
The 2,750-nanometer glass (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, which in the American measuring system is "very, very small") is a demonstration project by partners NEC, the Himeji Institute of Technology and Seiko Instruments Inc. for a three-dimensional manufacturing technique that might be applied to next-generation electronics. The glass, like the fancier spiral stem for a champagne flute pictured here too, is made from carbon suspended in a gas intersected by a computer-controlled gallium-focused ion beam. The beam is 10 nanometers wide and aimed by deflecting it off of electromagnetic fields. Following instructions rooted in computer-aided design, the beam positions the carbon into the form desired. Real world applications of the 3-D manufacturing technique might include ultra-miniature devices such as biosensors, microscopic exploratory robotic components, tiny drug-release capsules, high-performance optical communications devices and control switches, as well as tiny instruments for electromechanics, and magnetic devices.
NEC also suggests the process might lead to cyborgian "bio-nanochips." Banana chips? Yum. Sounds like a nice snack for a wedding where "the food is awful and the portions are so small!"
http://www.nec.com
-- Erik Baard, Technology Correspondent
Know something cool that should be included in this section? E-mail us .