Nanotechnology Lab Reveals Creepy Microscopic 'Pac-Man'
Posted by Joshua_Kopstein on Friday, Oct 08, 2010
A convergence of science and art, the hidden world revealed to us by microscopic imaging often produces spectacles both beautiful and bizarre. This, however, clearly belongs to the latter category: A microscopic ‘Pac-Man,’ occurring naturally in a copper oxide cluster and measuring only 3.5 microns. The cluster, imaged by an electron microscope at the University of Brescia in Italy, has been color enhanced to show contrast. But all other features of the strange microscopic glob — including the dark ‘eye’ and toothy, wedge-shaped grin (yikes!) — appear exactly the way our planet’s natural laws of physics have shaped them.
The image took top honors in the Materials Research Society’s “Science As Art” competition in San Francisco earlier this summer — An especially apropos finding, considering that Pac-Man (or “Puck-Man,” if you know your history or remember that one scene from the Scott Pilgrim movie) is celebrating his 30th anniversary. And what better way to celebrate than drawing doodles of microscopic particles in your new Pac-Man moleskine?
Pac on, little Puck-Man. Just… stop smiling at me like that.
Nanowerk via GeekologieFiled under:
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