Physics · Ch 11 — Recent Developments in Physics
Nano in Nature
Nano in Nature
Nanoscale structures existed in nature long before scientists began studying them in laboratories. The book gives five examples of natural nano-engineering, each paired with a laboratory technique that mimics the same underlying nano-principle:
- DNA -- a single strand of DNA, the building block of all living things, is only about 3 nanometres wide, making it a natural nanostructure at the very heart of biology.
- Morpho butterfly wings -- the scales on a Morpho butterfly's wings contain nanostructures that manipulate how light waves interact with each other, producing brilliant metallic blue/green colours through structural colour rather than pigment. In the laboratory this principle is mimicked by tuning nanoparticle size to control the colour a material displays.
- Peacock feathers -- their iridescent colouration comes from light interacting with two-dimensional photonic-crystal structures only tens of nanometres thick; laboratories engineer similar nanostructures to make materials glow in controlled colours.
- Parrotfish teeth -- a parrotfish crunches coral all day; its teeth owe their incredible durability to an interwoven-fibre nanostructure, crystals of the mineral fluorapatite woven chain-mail-fashion. This blueprint inspires ultra-durable synthetic materials for mechanical components subject to repeated abrasion and stress. …
What this figure shows. A single strand of DNA, the building block of all living things, is about three nanometres wide; the figure shows a single-strand and a double-strand DNA helix side by side as the reference example of a naturally occurring nanoscale o …
What this figure shows. The scales on the wings of a Morpho butterfly contain nanostructures that change the way light waves interact with each other, producing the wings' brilliant metallic blue and green colours through structural colour rather than pigment; laboratories mimic this by adjusting nanoparticle size to control the colou …
What this figure shows. Peacock feathers get their iridescent colouration from light interacting with two-dimensional photonic crystal structures only tens of nanometres thick; laboratories make similar engineered nanostructures that glow in different colours by the same p …
What this figure shows. A parrotfish crunches up coral all day; the source of its powerful, durable bite is an interwoven-fibre nanostructure -- crystals of a mineral called fluorapatite woven together in a chain-mail-like arrangement. This natural blueprint inspires ultra-durable synthetic materials for mechanical components and devices under repetitive movement, abr …
What this figure shows. A scanning electron micrograph of a lotus-leaf surface shows the nanostructures responsible for its self-cleaning ('lotus effect') property; laboratories mimic this to make water-repellent nano-paints that give durability, stain and dirt protection, and even improve fuel efficiency when coated …