A sculpture of the beautiful honeycomb lattice of graphene – the super-strong material which led to last year’s Nobel prize – is part of a new exhibition which premieres at MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester) this week, alongside sculptures of carbon nano-tubes and porphyrins (the working component in chlorophyll and red blood cells).
In Giants of the Infinitesimal (Running until 31 March 2012), renowned sculptors Tom Grimsey and Theo Kaccoufa have worked with top nano-scientists from the Universities of Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield and Glasgow to make the invisible visible by creating large-scale versions of nano-particles which visitors can manipulate in the same way that scientists do in the laboratory. It shows how this exciting new area of science will radically improve many fields, from computing, to energy, to waste reduction.
Art meets science in this fascinating revelation of the minutiae of nature, from a hands-on interactive showing an enlarged version of the tiny chains of nano-particles, known as nano-wire (which are expected to make computing 1000 times faster than current machines), to models showing the constant movement of atoms, and the self assembly of atoms at the nano-scale.
There is also a chance to see a piece of apparatus used in groundbreaking experiments at Daresbury Laboratory with nano-particles. For example, the Investigation Chamber now shown in the exhibition was used to optimise nanometer-sized particles for car catalytic converters to reduce pollution.
Ann Marks, who is education consultant for Giants of the Infinitesimal and has an MBE for services to physics, said: “Nano-particles are incredibly tiny and to find out about them or image them you need special devices. In Giants of the Infinitesimal nano-scientists and sculptors have worked together to help visualise the invisible. The interactive exhibits simulate techniques used by the scientists but with particles about a hundred million times larger. You are challenged to move them about and experience this amazing world for yourself.”
Sculptor Tom Grimsey said: “The idea was to create kinetic sculptures on a large scale, easily visible to the eye, that mimic some of the astonishing things that happen in the nano-world. The nano-world is very different - for example gravity has no bearing – but much of the restless energy and creativity of that world can be recreated on a large scale.”
Nanowires, nanoparticles and nanotubes are currently being used to develop and improve a vast range of practical applications. As well as the huge potential for nanowires to improve the speed of communications, they are also expected to increase the capacity for energy storage in batteries. Nanotechnology is being used to develop areas as diverse as self-cleaning surfaces, for nanoscale sensors and bio diagnostics in healthcare, creation of atomically precise chemical reactions which have implications for waste management, and to improve solar cell technology.
Giants of the Infinitesimal runs from 6 October 2011 – 31 March 2012 and is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The exhibition is in the Museum’s 1830 Warehouse, Liverpool Road, Castlefield, Manchester M3 4FP.
For more information look up www.mosi.org.uk/whats-on/giants-of-the-infinitesimal or www.giantsoftheinfinitesimal.com
