Artist creates world's smallest sculpture only for it to be accidentally CRUSHED as it was being photographed
An artist has created the world's smallest sculpture only for it to be accidentally crushed by a finger while being photographed.
Jonty Hurwitz's creations are so tiny they can rest on a human hair and are the same size of an ant's head.
Having spent months working on the pieces, the 45-year-old from Chichester, West Sussex, took them to a photographer to have them pictured under a microscope.
But within minutes his work had been destroyed by the stroke of the lab technician's finger.
I went off to have the original sculptures photographed so I found a laboratory with an electron microscope and the photographic technology,' said Mr Hurwitz.
'The technician went to change the orientation and then for the next half an hour we were looking for the piece through the lens.
'Eventually I noticed there was a fingerprint exactly where the sculpture used to be and I was like "man you have just destroyed the smallest art pieces" ever made - I slightly freaked out.'
The sculptures are less than 1mm tall and are produced via a process called nano-painting.
They are too small to be seen with the naked eye so must be viewed and photographed under a microscope.
Mr Hurwitz uses a 3D printing technology to produce them.
Describing the process on his website, he said: 'The structure is created using a ground-breaking new 3D printing technology and a technique called Multiphoton Lithography.
The artist from Chichester, West Sussex, described his work as a combination of 'art and Quantum Physics'
'Ultimately these works are created using the physical phenomenon of two photon absorption. Art, literally created with Quantum Physics.
'This two photon absorption occurs only at the tiny focal point - basically a tiny 3D pixel (called a Voxel).
'The sculpture is then moved along fractionally by a computer controlled process and the next pixel is created. Slowly, over hours and hours the entire sculpture is assembled pixel by pixel and layer by layer.'
What is nanopaint ?
Nanopaint is a coating that can modify the properties of a surface or substance according to user-defined parameters. Like ordinary paint, nanopaint is applied as a liquid and then hardens. The liquid contains a suspension of microscopic particles called
nanotube s that alter their behavior as external conditions change or when a specific command is given. Nanopaint is in the research-and-development phase.
Engineers have produced a prototype nanopaint that can block RF (radio frequency) fields in much the same way as a metal, such as copper, can do. When applied to the interior walls of a building, the material can selectively pass or impede signals to and from cell phones, portable radios or other wireless devices.
Potential applications of nanopaint abound. One especially interesting idea is the use of nanopaint on the exteriors of buildings to alter their infrared (IR) reflecting or absorbing properties depending on external conditions. This could improve energy efficiency by helping structures absorb thermal energy on cool but sunny days, reflect it on hot days, retain thermal energy on cold nights and radiate it away on warm nights. Specialized nanopaints might perform an almost endless number of other functions, such as:
- Block cell phone signals in inappropriate environments, such as theaters, hospitals and funerals.
- Give glass the ability to become more or less opaque as desired.
- Give the surfaces of motor vehicles or industrial machines the ability to repair themselves when damaged.
- Allow the textures of surfaces to be altered at will.
- Discourage the growth of pathogens such as bacteria or viruses.
- Repel or neutralize toxic chemicals, acids or other corrosive agents.
The sculptures are believed to be the smallest representation of the human form ever created by man.
