Week 8 | NanoTech + Art

This week’s topic focuses on nanotechnology, a rapidly developing, state-of-the-art field of engineering. As Professor Vesna mentioned in the lecture, this new field not only attracts the attention of both scientists and engineers, but is also appealing to artists. The properties of the physical matter change as the size approaches the nanoscale, since the quantum effects and properties have the dominant influence on physical characteristics at this scale. For example, while a normal size gold particle appears visibly gold in color, a nano-sized particle appears red to pink due to its size.

Nano-Gold Solution for Different Particle Size (Greenwood)

Exploiting this effect, several cosmetics company such as L'Oréal are now using this nanoparticle to replace previously used toxic and carcinogenic pigment compounds.

A Brief Video Demonstrates the Working Mechanism of STM (Wikipedia)

Another prime example of the integration of art and science is manipulation of the atom under the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The STM enables scientists to move and arrange matter on the atomic scale, exploiting the interaction between two atoms. This enables the construction of extremely small scale transistors as might be found in a quantum computer. In an example of nano-scale artwork, a recent project by an IBM research group used STM technology to make the world’s smallest movie, “The Boy and His Atom.”

The Boy and His Atom, The World's Smallest Movie (IBM Research)

[1] Greenwood, Jacine. "Gold in Cosmetics.....Does It Really Do Anything?" Educated Therapists. N.p., 06 Oct. 2016. Web. 04 June 2017. <http://www.educatedtherapists.com/gold-in-cosmetics-does-it-really-do-anything/>.

[2] "Scanning tunneling microscope." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 June 2017. Web. 04 June 2017. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanning_tunneling_microscope>.

[3] " A Boy And His Atom: The World's Smallest Movie." IBM Research: A Boy And His Atom. Web. 04 June 2017. <http://www.research.ibm.com/articles/madewithatoms.shtml>

[4] "A Boy and His Atom." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 May 2017. Web. 04 June 2017. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Boy_and_His_Atom>.

[5] "A Boy and His Atom." Ads Worth Spreading | Watch | TED.com.Web. 04 June 2017. <https://www.ted.com/watch/ads-worth-spreading/a-boy-and-his-atom>.