Nanoarpas

1999/04/25 Kortabarria Olabarria, Beñardo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Nanoteknologia

Researchers at Cornell University have chosen a curious fan: making the smallest musical instruments in the world. Their latest invention is a tool that can only be seen through the microscope and that they, by their appearance, call nanoharps. The tool is not a whim, as they want to investigate the resonances. In fact, scientists believe that with such small instruments, less clear characteristics can be found in conventional instruments.

The nanoharp consists of two pieces, one square and one triangular, tied with several strings (50 nanometers thick and between 1,000 and 8,000 nanometers long). The total size of the tool may be approximately one red blood cell. As we have said, they want to investigate the resonances, and for this they will use radio frequencies and lasers, some to sound and others to make the reading of the sound that comes out.

7 luminous