Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

3D Printed Art Smaller Than an Ant's Forehead

Posted by timothy on from the my-usual-measure-is-a-newt's-nostril dept.

ErnieKey (3766427) writes Artist Jonty Hurwitz has created the world's smallest sculptures: nanosculptures, no wider than a human hair and unable to be seen without an electron microscope, created using a specialized 3D printing process. Hurwitz says this project was 'Art, literally created with Quantum Physics.' While this seems quite a claim, it seems to be very well deserved. Hurwitz enlisted a team of approximately 15 people to help him bring his vision to life. After scanning his models in a 200-camera array, the sculptures were printed — with advice from the Weizmann Institute of Science — using a 3D print technique by the Institute of Microstructure Technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, with multiphoton lithography used for the fine detail work.

35 comments

  1. Microsoft's Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Use it to print a statue of all the people interested in Microsoft's Dicey new Slashdot.

    1. Re:Microsoft's Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Not a long time ago, I was just a normal internet user that surfed various news sites like Sladshdot, reddit, or wsj.com. I read a story, perhaps clicked onto some links it contained, and I was mostly happy with my life.

      Then, one day, I surfed Slashdot. It was one of those days you will remember for the rest of your life. So, as I surfed Sladshdot, the title of a story got my attention. I read the summary. The topic seemed interesting, so I decided to read further. I read:

      Read on below for the rest what Bennett has to say.

      Usually I don't read first line of a story which contains the user who has submitted it. On that day, I didn't neither. As I've only read that bottom line, I asked myself: who is this misterious Bennett? I decided to click onto the "Read the comments" link to read more of the story that was, as it seems, written by some Bennett. During reading, I was already impressed by the clear and detailed but still concise structure of the text. As I finished reading, I was convinced it was the best story I've ever read on Sladshdot, or any comparable news site. I asked myself: perhaps this misterious Bennett has contributed more frequently than just once?

      To find that out, I went to Sladshdot's search bar and searched for "Bennett". I clicked the second entry, and it began with:

      Frequent contributor Bennett Haselton writes

      I searched for the "Read on" line, and I was happy when I found it. As it seemed, he was a frequent contributor. However the story was on a topic completely unrelated to the topic of my article. Would the other article still be as insightful as the first? And the other stories in the search result? Would they be also by Bennett? Or someone else? I decided first to be happy to have found such an insightful article, and decided to make a photograph of me, before I read the second story.

      I still have that photograph of me and I can see the hope and the satisfaction in my eyes, the hope that the other stories are also written by this brilliant author called Bennett, and the satisfaction of having read such an insightful article. As I've read the first couple of stories by Bennett, I couldn't believe what my eyes saw: all the stories were as insightful or even more insightful than the original story I read. I asked myself whether the spectators in the Globe theatre would have felt the same way when they watched a piece by shakespeare: Witnessing history of writing. I realized Bennett is one of histories great writers.

      As I've finished reading all contributions by Bennett Haselton on Sladshdot, I went back to the first Bennett story, and read them a second time. I sat three days straight, missing all social events during that span, only reading Bennett's stories, and reading them again and again. During that time my eyes opened to the fact that my whole life, I've known nothing. Bennett's stories explained every aspect of very complicated things in such detail, that I formed something in my mind. First, I couldn't describe it what it was, but years later I know that, for the first time of my life, I formed something called "opinion" on a topic. Previously, I've only adopted opinions from others, but Bennett's stories enable people to make their opinions for themselfes, to form them. With his stories, Bennett gives you the material to form your own opinion on your own. I know you will say that you can form your opinion on your own, and that you don't need Bennett for that. I
      disagree with you. What you call opinion, is in reality just ideology you imitate from others. You don't form your opinions, you don't have them.

      Every time Bennett writes a new story on Sladshdot, I take a free day and spend it reading the story

  2. If only they can make robots that small ... by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 1

    The arts are indeed impressive ! However, they are "sculptures" that do not have movable joints

    If only they can make bots that small imagine how many amazing feats that can be achieved !

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:If only they can make robots that small ... by AC-x · · Score: 1

      Given the sculptures were made using lithography I can't see why the same technique couldn't be applied to MEMS.

    2. Re:If only they can make robots that small ... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      Given the sculptures were made using lithography I can't see why the same technique couldn't be applied to MEMS.

      The material, and techniques, are different. MEMS is done on silicon using a subtractive process. The sculptures in TFA were made with an additive process using a polymer. MEMS uses both the mechanical and electrical properties of silicon, so a polymer would not be a drop in replacement.

    3. Re:If only they can make robots that small ... by AC-x · · Score: 1

      But from what I've read it works with the same photosensitive chemicals that are used for etching silicon, so could both be used instead of a mask (I'm assuming they still have to use masks to etch the silicon?) and maybe add polymer parts to the silicon components.

  3. Wacky units . . . by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

    Well, I have heard of Hogsheads as a unit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...

    But an ant's forehead . . . how many Libraries of Congress or size of Wales is that . . . ?

    Maybe they meant "aunt" instead of "ant" . . . ? I don't know about youse guys, but if someone tried to print something in 3D on my aunt's forehead, they would be in for more trouble than they expected . . .

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  4. "Smaller than Ant's forehead" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That sounds pretty big, given that Ant was supposed to be the one with the large forehead. Mind you, now that Dec's no longer got a fringe, his looks quite obviously oversized as well- so bang goes another way to tell which one's which.

    (Sorry, this in-joke applies to United Kingdom residents only. Not for export to Iran, Syria, Belgium or the United States. Your statutory rights are not affected. Let's get ready to rhumble).

  5. Man oh man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The lengths some geeks will go to to see a pretty girl naked. Really.
    What a pickup line, "Want to model for some nanosculptures I'm working on - it's a school project...?"

  6. What is this? by stoolpigeon · · Score: 2

    Art for ants?!

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    1. Re:What is this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I for one welcome this new art.

  7. DOMINOQQ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://imcqq.org/ GOOD job

  8. Art schmart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Why is this news? He created nano stuff with pre-existing technology made to create nano stuff. Who cares if he declares that "this is art"? Ultimately what we are talking about here is not that he did anything original *other* than self-label his creations "art".

    1. Re:Art schmart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's 3D printing! It's the future!

  9. This isn't a story by jbmartin6 · · Score: 0

    Now, printed ON an ant's forehead, that would be a story.

    --
    This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
  10. When it gets to be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    smaller than an ant's dick, then you have a story.

  11. Can't have that. by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    And make sure you blur out the naught bits. Can't have that.

  12. Excuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like a lousy excuse to look at nude women all day

  13. IBM did this already? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    IBM individually moved atoms using a SPM, if I recall correctly. And when things are this small, scientists usually refer to these things as 0-D, 1-D, or 2-D objects since one atom thickness is essentially laughable.

  14. literally made with quantum physics by Trepidity · · Score: 2

    Fun fast: I am literally posting this post using quantum physics.

    --
    10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
    1. Re:literally made with quantum physics by CaptQuark · · Score: 1

      Your post was submitted before you finished typing using quantum entanglement.

      ~~

    2. Re:literally made with quantum physics by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 1

      How fast were you posting?

      --
      Mostly random stuff.
  15. The two photon effect by umafuckit · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here's a nice page on the two photon effect, which explains how the resolution was achieved. Two-photon imaging has been used for some time in the life sciences to achieve super-thin optical sectioning.

    --
    soylentnews.org
  16. They missed a great opportunity by paiute · · Score: 1

    The first statue should have been one of Hendrik Casimir.

    --
    If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
  17. Sorry, this is bullshit photoshopped "art". by Gavin+Scott · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No, I'm sorry, it appears to me that this is all photoshopped fakery. Yes, two-photon lithography is a real thing, but in this case we have some artist claiming to have done things which are not currently possible.

    This kind of thing happens pretty frequently now and it pisses me off, sorry. Real scientists and engineers (and even artists) dream and strive to accomplish great feats of engineering and discovery. But some people like to pretend their dreams are real and by presenting fake accomplishments to the world they damage society by trivializing the actual accomplishments of real innovators. They present their "art" as if it were real, and it gets sent around the internet and people believe that it's true, and that further blurs the public's view of what's real and what's art or pure fantasy. What's the point of trying to actually do something like this when everyone thinks it has already been done?

    So, anyhow, a few minutes googling will expose some of the original pre-photoshop images that these people appropriated to create their "art". For example, the microphotograph of the needle's eye can be found here with no tiny statue in evidence:

    http://www.aber.ac.uk/bioimage...

    In addition, depth-of-field, lighting, and other cues like the fact that there's no actual connection to the substrate make these fakes pretty obvious.

    Ergo, I must presume the whole thing, including the video interview is all just "performance art".

    Here's a tip: amazing and groundbreaking scientific and technological breakthroughs are generally not announced to the world by artists.

    G.

    1. Re:Sorry, this is bullshit photoshopped "art". by sseymour1978 · · Score: 0

      Please mod parent up!

      1) Created, but lost. HAHA, nice try
      2) Images look photoshopped,
      3) If this technology is so ready and available why it is not used for something useful ?

      And why do you need so many DSLR's to create 3d image of object ?

    2. Re:Sorry, this is bullshit photoshopped "art". by amaurea · · Score: 1

      The size of the images also doesn't mesh with the size described in the article text. The figurines in the images are actually quite large, and should be clearly visible even with much less than 400x magnification. For example, the head of a small ant might be 0.5 mm wide. That would make the figurine about 0.1 mm long. With 400x magnification it would be like looking at an object 4 cm long, which would be quite visible. Yet the text claims these were only visible with electron microscopes.

      But of course, none of that is as strong evidence as the parent's damning link to a the pre-photoshopped picture of the needle head, with all the little dust motes and imperfections in exactly the same location, but missing the figurine.

    3. Re:Sorry, this is bullshit photoshopped "art". by asjk · · Score: 1

      Thanks GS, this is why /. is such a valuable resource. There is always someone reading who knows BS and stops the rest of us (me) from spamming bogus information around.

    4. Re:Sorry, this is bullshit photoshopped "art". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > the microphotograph of the needle's eye can be found here with no tiny statue in evidence

      Ant face original spotted here: http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15041&p=180236

    5. Re:Sorry, this is bullshit photoshopped "art". by umafuckit · · Score: 1

      The point spread function of a 2 photon microscope is about 3 microns in the axial direction for 900 nm light. So it could plausibly be 1/3 here because they're using UV. I suspected they indeed created the blurrier looking figurines toward the bottom of the page with the rest being being representations of what the figurine would look like on other objects. Yes, it would be visible with a light microscope, since it was created with a light microscope.

      --
      soylentnews.org
  18. No wider than a human hair? by jetole · · Score: 1

    That sculpture looks like it's about the width of more then a 100 ant hairs. Is a human hair more then a 100 times as wide as a ant hair? I know everything on ants is smaller but is that sculpture really no wider then a human hair? Honest question.

  19. prior "art"? by ihtoit · · Score: 1

    Doesn't IBM's litho stamp of its own logo (gold on carbon or was it the other way round?) count?

    --
    Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  20. Prior art by ahto · · Score: 1

    While not 3D-printed, similar things have been done long before by Nikolai Aldunin. A TIME gallery features some pictures, among them perhaps most relevant at the moment a set of seven camels (plus three palm trees) in the eye of a needle and most impressive for me personally a flea fitted with horse shoes, saddle and stirrups. While TIME reported on him in 2008, most of the work is much older. I remember going to an exhibition in late 1980s.

  21. Argh. by antdude · · Score: 1

    Get that off my head!! It is itching me! :(

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  22. Needed: ant forehead decor by DulcetTone · · Score: 1

    I need some adornment for my ant's forehead. Is there anything larger than this available?

    --
    tone