The Future of Retail Will Be Self-Driving
Researchers at CalTech have created microscopic buildings with fractals.
This work implies a lot for the future of what we think we can build.
Professor Julia Greer is the force behind the project, and she refers to the structures as fractal nanotrusses.
Just looking at the images of the nanometer-big objects is stupefying. If you were not told the fractal nanotrusses were so microscopic, you might assume they were prospective skyscrapers.
Manipulating building materials at such a tiny level could mean we see a halcyon time of buildings that are almost infinitely sturdy.
Building Astonishment with Fractals
“Having full control over the architecture gives us the ability to tune material properties to what was previously unattainable with conventional monolithic materials or with foams.” – Julia Greer, professor of materials science and mechanics
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
Imagine a world in which we could control the way we build at the scale of the nanometer. Our perspectives would shift to consider the small as the root of all things. Huge skyscrapers would only be built after serious consideration of the near-invisible substances within their design.
Would could we build with this new ability to fashion fractal structures that only we can see through powerful microscopes?
What do you imagine we do with this skill?
Photo Credit: L. Meza, L. Montemayor, N. Clarke, J. Greer/Caltech
About the author
Gabriel Sistare is the Senior Editor of Serious Wonder. He loves materials science and design, and hopes for a future abundant with vitality.
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