A student at Delft University of Technology creates the world’s smallest Christmas tree consisting of just 51 atoms from a perfect crystal lattice
- The smallest artificial Christmas tree in the world is the size of a DNA strand
- It consists of 51 individual atoms and measures only four nanometers in height
- One student used a device that allowed her to scan individual atoms
- He then used a high-powered microscope to change the position of each
Many people strive to find the largest tree for the holidays, but one student has done just the opposite: she created the smallest Christmas tree in the world.
Maura Williams, of Delft University of Technology, designed a festive tree made up of individual atoms that is only four nanometers tall, not counting the trees.
Williams used a device that allowed him to scan each atom and change its position to form the iconic shape.
The structure is made up of 51 atoms of perfect crystalline lattice, which translates to the size of a DNA strand or 40,000 times smaller than a human hair.
The smallest Christmas tree in the world is four nanometers tall, which is the size of a DNA strand. The structure consists of 51 individual atoms
The largest artificial Christmas tree resides in Sri Lanka, which is over 236 feet tall and reached Guinness World Records for its height.
However, Williams ’small artificial tree can be an even bigger hit.
The small tree was a graduation project in which he used a scanning tunneling microscope designed to scan individual atoms and change their position.
This technology is used to study the individual quantum mechanical properties of each atom.
Maura Williams, a student at Delft University of Technology, used a scanning tunneling microscope. This device is capable of scanning atoms and changing their positions
The largest artificial Christmas tree resides in Sri Lanka (pictured), which is over 236 feet tall and set Guinness world records for its height. However, Williams ’small artificial tree can be an even bigger hit
Williams used this huge piece of machinery to build the small tree by adjusting each of the 51 atoms individually to create the shape of a Christmas tree.
The end result was a small green Christmas tree that is about the size of a DNA strand.
Scientists conduct these interested experiments to better understand the world around them, although they usually have a fun result.
Just last October, a team from Leiden University unveiled a 3D-printed boat about a third the thickness of a human hair.
It was created to track known bacteria known as micro swimmers to better understand how they work.
From bow to stern, this small vessel measures 30 micrometers or requires an electron microscope to capture an image of the completed object.
Scientists conduct these interested experiments to better understand the world around them, although they usually have a fun result. Precisely last October, a team from Leiden University presented a 3D-printed ship that was about the third thickness of a human hair.
The researchers created a number of other objects as part of the process of testing their 3D printing technique. This included a starship, balls, and a spiral-type object that could be used in earnest.
The team said future 3D-printed “microswimmers” made with their technique could be designed to administer specific drugs inside the body or diagnose a condition.
They also printed spiral-shaped particles, which rotate along their propulsion through the water to follow micromassers that can be seen under a microscope.
The microbat has no propeller and is based on a standard boat design used to test 3D printers: they were testing a new micro-scale 3D printer.
The team claims that the use of 3D printing techniques allows them to make a variety of shapes to find the best design to follow real micro swimmers through the fluid.
In the future, the technique could also be used to create synthetic microsnoters that can travel through the human body to diagnose conditions or administer specific medications.