They set out to recruit young, would-be scientists, not necessarily to break records. But the next-smallest Bible is 50 times bigger. For context, that’s about 50 grains of sugar. This one has been printed on a gold-plated silicone chip less than 1/1000th of an inch.
That’s smaller than a pinhead, if you need another frame of reference.
Scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology took three months to devise a program and just 90 minutes to etch the entire Hebrew Bible – over 308,000 words – onto the surface of the chip.
How did they do it? Well, the simple sentence answer is just the surface of some intense scientific magic, but words will have to do. The text was written using focused ion beam generator that shot tiny particles called Gallium ions into the gold plating, etching into it much like a water jet digs a hole in the earth.
“The nano-bible project demonstrates the miniaturization at our disposal,” said Technion physics professor Uri Sivan, who conceived of the project as a recruiting tool. “This research could lead to the creation of more advanced miniature structures — and imaging — on a nanometric scale, advances in storing information in very small spaces, and the use of DNA molecules to store information.”
A photograph of the etching will be blown up 10,000 times and displayed at the Institute in 75-square foot frame next to the original chip. The expanded version will enable the entire Old Testament to be viewed with the naked eye.
