Blind to see nano
Researchers make giant models of nano structures to
help the visually impaired feel objects that are
otherwise invisible to the naked eye
Mirror Bureau
When it comes to research at the nanoscale, vision is
not necessarily an advantage. The subjects are so
small, no one can see them. To encourage people
with visual impairments to pursue fields in
nanotechnology, educators have developed a way to
craft accurate, detailed and touch-friendly models of
nanoscale
objects like carbon nanofibres, allowing the students
to see those objects for the first time.
A close-up of the 3D, plaster model of "NanoBucky"
showing the individual carbon nanofibres that it is
built from.
While students have learned from abstract models of
chemical structures for decades, the new technique
creates 3D versions of objects as they actually are.
The fact is, were all blind at the nanoscale, says
US-based Andrew Greenberg,
education
and outreach coordinator for the University of
Wisconsin-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering
Center and the Institute for Chemical
Education
- are building physical 3D models of nano-
surfaces that are large enough to be explored with the
hands. Using an engineering tool called rapid
prototyping, their first attempt replicates
NanoBucky
- a nanoscale version of the Universitys mascot,
Bucky Badger - made from tiny carbon nanofibre
hairs.
The models are about the size of a textbook and are
formed using rapid prototyping, a process that
prints 3D objects. Each model is a scaled-up replica
of tweaked data from a scanning electron microscope.
The creators hope they will soon be able to apply the
same process to data from other instruments, including
the patterns of atoms revealed by atomic force
microscopes.
CREATING THE MODEL
Created by UW-Madison chemistry professor, Bob Hamers,
to demonstrate a method for controlling the growth of
nanomaterials, the original NanoBucky is so
tiny that approximately 9,000 of him can fit on the
head of the pin.
Andrew Greenberg and Mohammed Farhoud pose with their
model of NanoBucky.
Using a 2D greyscale picture of NanoBucky, Farhoud
calculated the heights of the carbon nanofibres and
then sent this newly acquired data into the rapid
prototyper, which lays down plaster layer-by-layer to
print three dimensional models.
Though Greenberg and Farhouds plaster 3D models are
several inches long and tens of thousands of times
larger, they aim to faithfully reproduce every last
nanofiber of Buckys being.
We want to get across that NanoBucky is made up of
individual carbon nanofibres standing on end, says
Greenberg. If the students fingers were small
enough, this is what a surface would feel like at the
nanoscale.
HELPING THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED
Greenberg first conceived the models on seeing 3D
models of molecules that blind students handled to
learn chemical structures. He wonders whether 3D
models
might help sighted students - or the public, for that
matter - also appreciate the nanoscale.
A two-dimensional image is great, he says. But if
you can touch something, everyone enjoys that.
Besides being fun to touch and handle, Greenberg hopes
his models will encourage more blind and visually
impaired students to pursue science, technology
and engineering. Since the current learning and
research tools dont allow them to experience science
on their own, many blind students dont consider
it to be an attractive career choice.
One of the goals of our program is to build diversity
into science and engineering, he says. We really
want to open these careers to anyone who is interested.
__________________________________________________________
Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/
To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please
visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
