Stop-motion Atomation!

Hi everyone,

Today I wanted to blog about something that isn't especially new in the world of geeks but something that a lot of you may not yet have seen.

I came across an piece of work that claimed to be "The worlds smallest movie" and was intrigued. After some investigation I found the animation, which was called "A boy and his atom" created by IBM. This is basically a short movie created by moving and manipulating individual atoms on a copper plate, using a scanning tunnelling microscope.

IBM's scanning tunnelling microscope - image courtesy of Google images

The concept sounds crazy but is surprisingly quite effective, as well as visually pleasing. The technology involved in creating the animation is technically beyond my comprehension but sounds more like science fiction than science fact. That being said, this is an amazing achievement and really is a great bridge between creativity and technology.

The copper plate which is the background to the animation - courtesy of Google images

I have noticed something cool on the image below of the scanning tunnelling microscope , check it out!

The scanning tunnelling microscope - courtesy of Google images

A couple of quick facts about atoms: 

Atoms are so small that there are more atoms in a single grain of sand than there are grains of sand on an entire beach!

You could fit over 2 billion atoms in the full stop at the end of this sentence.

The size of an atom - courtesy of Google images

Please see the award winning animation below:

Click here for A boy and his Atom

I hope you enjoyed the animation, there is plenty of information on how they created it on the link above.

Happy reading
Media productions

www.sovibrant.co.uk

Graphene - Future applications

Hi everyone,

Graphene is quickly becoming the leading scientific research area of our time. Graphene is basically a two dimensional material with amazing properties which, once harnessed, could drastically change the way we live our lives.

There is a wealth of information online about Graphene, but basically it consists of single-atom-thick layers of carbon. These layers are so thin that they only exist in 2 dimensions so don't have any depth. Due to this and their extremely tight honey-combed structure, they contain some very unusual properties. These consist of the potential to be the strongest material known to man being over 200 times stronger than steel, as well as the lightest. Graphene also has an incredible abilility to conduct heat and power (electrons) which opens up a new world of electronic advancements.

Honey-combed carbon structure of Graphene - Image courtesy of Google

Imagine the age-old sci-fi concept of an elevator to space, theoretically it could be possible if created with Graphene-based materials. Also, amazing new batteries that are many times more efficient than we currently have, as well as computing power that is hundreds of times faster due to Graphene's unique thermal properties.

Example uses of Graphene - Image courtesy of Google

What is the best property of Graphene!?  It was discovered right here in the UK, Manchester to be exact and this is where the world's leading Graphene research is being carried out. GET IN!

Nobel prize winning scientists from Manchester - Image courtesy of Google

The two videos below explain what Graphene is and how it is created as well as some of the future applications of Graphene.

Click here for the "Introduction to Graphene" video

Click here for the "Future applications of Graphene" video

Stay tuned for further posts relating to the advancements and new discoveries around Graphene!

Media Productions

www.sovibrant.co.uk