Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News

World’s smallest boat could sail inside of a human hair

It's super cute, too!

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu
October 26, 2020
in News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit
Credit: Leiden University.

Scientists at Leiden University in the Netherlands flexed their 3D printing muscles to the extreme by shaping the smallest floating object in the world.

The tiny boat is a 30-micrometer replica of Benchy the tugboat — a jolly 3D printing test design — as an homage to one of the most popular 3D printer tests objects.

According to the Dutch engineers, the tiny boat is so small it could float down the interior of a human hair shaft. It can even propel itself thanks to a few platinum molecules that react with hydrogen peroxide, so it essentially boasts a full sailing system.

ADVERTISEMENT

To print the most intricate part of the microscopic tugboat — the cockpit — the researchers focused a laser beam onto a droplet that hardened right at the focal point. By moving the laser beam in a highly precise and controlled way, they could perform the desired nanometric cuts.

Sorry to interrupt, but you should really...

...Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

The team at Leiden University embarked on this project as part of a grander research project investigating microswimmers, which are essentially any small particles moving in fluids. These include bacteria and sperm.

“3D Benchy is a structure that has been designed to test macroscopic 3D printers because it has several challenging features, and it was natural to also try it at the micrometer scale,” researcher Daniela Kraft told Gizmodo. “In addition, making a swimming micrometer-sized boat is fun.”

The findings were described in the journal Soft Matter.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tags: 3d printing
ShareTweetShare
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.