When the scanning electron microscope was invented in 1965 it opened up a whole new realm of creation: the micro world of tiny organisms such as the radiolarians of the ocean and pollen grains. What is so striking about many of these forms is that their resemble the metamorphic creations of 20th century architect such as Candela , Isler and Calatrava. This is comparing natural micr0structures strute and macro man-made buildings.
In the burgeoning field of nanotechnology, nature’s techniques by which these exquisitely assembled structures are produced are much admired and means to replicate them keenly sought. Much has been achieved in nano self assembly but nature’s best forms have twists that have so far eluded the nano scientist. But recently a large multinational research team has produced exquisite complex nano-structures using engineering principles more familiar from the macro world. I was immediately struck by the similarity between their forms and those devised in concrete shells by the Swiss engineer Heinz Isler. Isler used the play of natural forces to create his shapes, starting with models such as a damp dishcloth, pegged so that it hangs under gravity, then frozen. To create the shell the hanging pattern is inverted, which means that the pattern of stresses is perfectly balanced.
In a nano echo of Isler’s work, the US/Chinese team orchestrate stress patterns at the nano level to make their silicon ribbons buckle into predictable shapes.
Science, 9 January 2015, pp. 154-9.
In the burgeoning field of nanotechnology, nature’s techniques by which these exquisitely assembled structures are produced are much admired and means to replicate them keenly sought. Much has been achieved in nano self assembly but nature’s best forms have twists that have so far eluded the nano scientist. But recently a large multinational research team has produced exquisite complex nano-structures using engineering principles more familiar from the macro world. I was immediately struck by the similarity between their forms and those devised in concrete shells by the Swiss engineer Heinz Isler. Isler used the play of natural forces to create his shapes, starting with models such as a damp dishcloth, pegged so that it hangs under gravity, then frozen. To create the shell the hanging pattern is inverted, which means that the pattern of stresses is perfectly balanced.
In a nano echo of Isler’s work, the US/Chinese team orchestrate stress patterns at the nano level to make their silicon ribbons buckle into predictable shapes.
Science, 9 January 2015, pp. 154-9.
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