This week I was inspired by Asa showing me a short article in the newspaper about a nano musical instrument. A group from Twente University (MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology) in the Netherlands claims to have created the first nano musical instrument that produces audible tones.The instrument itself is up to 1 millimetre long and contains springs measuring a tenth of the thickness of a human hair. The sound is created by vibration of the strings, the plucking of which is controlled by a mass spring system.[1] Additionally, comb drives are used to control the tuning of the comb by changing, for instance, the number of comb teeth or the gap between them.
I decided to investigate whether there are any other nano musical instruments, excluding the iPod nano :) I have found that there is a nanoguitar, which was made in 1997 by researches from Cornell University. The 10 microns long guitar has 6 strings, each about 50 nm and is carved out of crystalline silicon using high-voltage electron beam lithography. The strings can only be plucked when an atomic force microscope is used, which contains a nanosized tip. Unfortunately, this nanoguitar works in an inaudible frequency.[2] In 2004 another study, this time from IBM, made the nanoguitar playable with a focused laser beam, which hits the string, makes them vibrate and creates interference patterns in the light reflected back. The vibrating frequency created on the strings is much higher than in normal guitars so no one can hear it.[3]
To summarize, the only nano musical concerts ever performed have been in the Netherlands.
References:
1. http://www.utwente.nl/organization/stories/muziek-maken-op-de-micrometer
2. http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/july97/guitar.ltb.html
3. “Nanoguitar is music to engineers' ears”, Futurist, 28(2), 12-13, Mar-Apr 2004
