IBM scientists have created the world’s smallest magazine cover, which is invisible to the naked eye, and it is so tiny that 2,000 could fit on a grain of salt.
Researchers at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in US developed a new tool inspired by hieroglyphics, the written language created by the ancient Egyptians.
The core of the technology is a tiny, heatable silicon tip with a sharp apex — 100,000 times smaller than a sharpened pencil. Working like a 3D printer it ‘chisels’ away material by local evaporation.
To demonstrate the tool, IBM partnered with National Geographic Kids magazine to ‘chisel’ the world’s smallest magazine cover. The recently certified Guinness World Records cover is 11 x 14 micrometres and was unveiled at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, DC.