Nanoscale racecar printed in 3D

3D printing does seem to be catching on, what with the constantly falling prices of all the relevant hardware. I believe that the future will see kids with an unusual amount of imagination churn out their own creation using 3D printers right in the comfort of their own homes, and dad and mom no longer need to drive down to the local toy store. Having said that, if you want to print out a palindrome in 3D, you can do so if you have a template for a racecar. However, what you see above is very, very different, since it is printed at the nanoscale.

Yes sir, researchers at the Vienna University of Technology have ventured into unfamiliar territory, perfecting the art of printing 3D objects at the nanoscale. This nano 3D printer of theirs is capable of creating complex objects which are no larger than a grain of sand. Never mind being at that size, they are still depicted in great amount of detail, and apart from the racecar, there are other examples including the St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, in addition to the Tower Bridge in London. This is made possible thanks to two-photon lithography, where four minutes will yield 100 layers that comprise of 200 lines for each layer.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: 3d printer