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January 04, 2006
Micromachines — 'Bugs on devices'
From Sandia National Laboratories comes a group of fascinating photographs showing what happens when real live insects get into microscale–size machines.
Above, "Mirror mechanism with a spider mite."
Below, Drive mechanism dwarfed by mite."
Below, "Another example of a bug and a mechanism."
Below, "A gear chain with a mite approaching."
Below, "A second view of the mite approaching the gear chain. (Please note the relative size of the gears and the mite)."
Below, "Spider mite and gears."
The images above are just a few of the many on the Sandia National Laboratories website.
As Richard Feynman so prophetically said back in 1959, "There's plenty of room at the bottom."
January 4, 2006 at 04:01 PM | Permalink
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Comments
I accept that the bugs are "real", but since electron microscope samples are sitting in a vacuum (and, commonly, plated with gold so they don't get charged by the electron beam; biological samples are lucky if they're only liquid-nitrogen-frozen), I doubt these insects are "live" any more :-). I would surmise that the description of the mite as "approaching" the gear train is using a certain amount of poetic license.
Posted by: Daniel Rutter | Jan 4, 2006 5:30:46 PM
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