Micro Art

Who doesn't know the Mona Lisa? You may not have seen this famous painting up close and personal, but there is no doubt in my mind you have at least heard of and/or seen pictures of it.

When Leonardo da Vinci painted this portrait between 1503 and 1506, he could not even have come close imagining how world-famous it would become.

At present, it is 'the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world' and since recently also the smallest.

Scientists have managed to create the Mona Lisa as wide as a third of the width of a human hair. For the more scientifically orientated among you, that would equate to around 30 microns.

They did this by using a new process which is called ThermoChemical NanoLithography (TCNL). This process generates heat which, in combination with a special dye, produces a variety of shades of gray.

It actually boils down to a chemical reaction and even though the creation was not as sharp as the original, it still is quite artistic to say the least.

The expectations are that over time the process will be tweaked and refined and result in much clearer images. It will be interesting to see what all this method can be used for. I suspect there are options galore.

We will keep it under the microscope!