I ricercatori dell'Istituto Paul Scherrer di Villigen, nel canton Argovia, hanno realizzato microscopici, ma molto fedeli, modellini del Cervino: questo simbolo delle Alpi, che in realtà è alto 4'478 metri, è stato ridotto a sette centesimi di millimetri, meno dello spessore di un foglio di carta; la vetta ha un diametro di 100 nanometri, le dimensioni di un virus.
Scopo dell'operazione non è naturalmente quello di soddisfare il bisogno di ricordini per turisti, ma di studiare le proprietà delle superfici provviste di migliaia di invisibili protuberanze. Proprietà che sono osservabili anche in natura, ad esempio esaminando le scaglie e le minuscole gibbosità disseminate sul corpo di certi serpenti, capaci di ridurre l'attrito provocato dagli spostamenti sulla sabbia.
Gli scienziati hanno fatto uso di una tecnologia nota col nome di fotolitografia in 3D
Per raggiungere il risultato, gli scienziati hanno fatto uso di una tecnologia nota col nome di fotolitografia in 3D, ricorrendo al laser e a materiali fotosensibili.
ATS/dg
Per saperne di più: il sito web
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