You know those dumb things they sell in sharper image? Shrink it down to microchip size, and it could be a great way to cool a computer.
The IMT is the smallest telescope in the world, designed to be implanted in the eye. It’s designed to refocus the center of the field of vision onto a healthy patch of receptors, in the eye of an older patient with macular degeneration.
Really tiny stuff sticks together, because at some point there’s less going on in the vacuum between them than there is going on in the vacuum around them. You know how when you try and meditate by clearing your mind and end up thinking about the fact that you’re thinking of nothing, and then eventually you’re trying to figure out what to eat for dinner? The universe does that too. Anyway, apparently these scientists have concieved of a lens that can reverse the effect.
A more technical description of the problem and solution is available here.
A tour of the small. Sort of like Powers of Ten.
This little robot mimics Jesus, albeit only in its ability to walk on water. More at the Register.
Of course, Jesus can also fly. Luckily, another tiny little robot can do that. Now we just need a tiny robot that can hunt vampires and we’ll have the major gospels covered.
A french civil servant, 44 years old and with two kids, was revealed to have an extraordinarily tiny brain.
Neuropsychological testing revealed the man had an IQ of 75, with a verbal IQ of 84 and performance IQ of 70. The bulk of people in society have a minimum IQ of 85, although the benchmark and the way it is measured are sometimes contested.
Despite this, “the man has been able to lead a life that can be considered normal,” said Feuillet. “Even if he has a slight intellectual handicap, this has not hampered his development or building social networks.”
Amazing how normally one can live on almost no intelligence, but you’ve really gotta wonder how the wife was covering for his botched scrabble games and misquotations of Proust.
Nikon’s holding a microphotography contest. First prize is a $3000 credit for Nikon gear. While you’re there, be sure to check out last year’s contenders, which are all stunning. Pictured, a rat’s ass. Ok, not really. A mouse’s colon.
Via BoingBoing.
Using microscopic, magnetic tweezers, scientists have been able to monitor changes in the length of a DNA strand when exposed to a cancer-fighting drug. It suggests that the drug works by coiling the DNA strand up into telephone-cord-like kinks.
More info on the tweezers here. At least, I think these are the tweezers they used. It’s always so hard to find them when you need them.
No, it’s not athletic protection for Humvee drivers, it’s a race for speed and agility at the microscopic level. Part of the RoboCup competition, the tiny devices competed to see which could pass by a series of obstacles the width of human hairs. There was also a two-millimeter dash.
Via Engadget.
I'm Michael Condouris, and this is my second blog. The first one's Wacky Neighbor. I was born in 1975 in New Jersey. I live in Aberdeen, NJ, with my fiancée Carrie, in our new suburban paradise. We have two pets, a Shih Tzu named Coco and a beagledor named Zoë. I was on Jeopardy once. I lost, though, just like in the Weird Al song.
Besides Smallistry, my interests include robots, space, movies, movies about robots and/or space, and Mexican restaurants. Recently I've also become fond of the Wii and ancient history. I dislike conversations about food, sports, other people's children, and conspiracy theories. I'm ok with talking about the weather though. My hat size is 7 1/4, and I have no sense of smell.
I've pretty much stopped blogging in the last, oh, 6 months or so, because talking about tiny things got a bit stale and life had a habit of getting in the way. So for the time being, the site will live on as a Twitter feed of whatever floats through my head.
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