13 replies to this topic

[Arthas]

http://www.news.com....672-401,00.html

SCIENTISTS in Israel have used a particle beam to etch the entire text of the Jewish Bible on a chip less than half the size of a sugar grain.

The nanotechnology experts at the Technion institute in Haifa said the text measured less than 0.5 sq mm.

They chose the Jewish Bible to highlight how vast quantities of information could be stored in tiny spaces, the Associated Press reported.

"It took us about an hour to etch the 300,000 words of the Bible onto a tiny silicon surface,''

Miniaturization is a fascinating technology.

Edited by Arthas, 24 December 2007 - 01:19 AM.

[Mitchfork]

Rabbi: Let me see... where did I put my electron micro- oh! There it is. Ahem. Let's start with the book of Genesis...

[Koopa]

Well, I see very little point in a bible no-one can read, but it's a fascinating waste of time display of what science can do.

[Taco Chopper]

Well, it would hurt your eyes if you tried to read it...

Just what are they going to use that tiny speck for exactly? But it's amazing just how far we have come in the last 20 - 30 years technology wise, when you think about it.

[NoeL]

Well, I see very little point in a bible no-one can read, but it's a fascinating waste of time display of what science can do.

Yeah! And why do they test cosmetics on rabbits? They don't need to look pretty! Totally pointless.[/sarcasm]

It's not the Bible that has a point to it, that was just a test to see what could be done. There's little point in shrinking a Bible, or one of Shakespeare's plays, or something like that, but what if it was, say, some instruction manual for a new military technology that they needed to keep hidden? Lay it on a chip, implant it under someone's skin, bad guys never discover the technology.

Think of in terms of its potential application, not a microscopic Bible.

[Radien]

OMG they've invented the shrink ray!!! Hide the children!!! Or Disney might make another cheesy movie about kids riding bees...


... On a more serious note, I might point out that the cost of creating that "speck" was probably nothing compared to the cost of the equipment. Also, if the equipment was made for multiple uses, it could have lots of practical applications; this would be just a test run. I would consider this technology a super-advanced form of microfilm. Anyway, the use of the Jewish Bible (the Koran?) was certainly just to get people's attention; it's something people put a lot of importance into, and not normally associated with advanced information technology. (Also, everybody has a good idea of how long it is)

[ShadowTiger]

I think it's useful, to a degree. There are those who like to say that they like to have a copy of the bible on them at all times for whatever religious matters. I have indeed seen minute, and often laminated copies of bibles on a person's person. You can keep them in a coat pocket or whatever.

With these nearly microscopic bibles, you can say that you have one without even knowing that you do. It can be like lint for all you know. It would be like a placebo!

Rabbi: Let me see... where did I put my electron micro- oh! There it is. Ahem. Let's start with the book of Genesis...

OMFG, this post for the win. "Silly Rabbi, you can't use an electronmicroscope on Shabbas! " "Oy!"

[Titanium Justice]

300,000 words is alot!
well it's cool that there improving storage devices, but i think that reading a bible from the actual book is more easy and affordable

EDIT:Oops it was 300,000 words

Edited by HeavyTitanium, 24 December 2007 - 01:23 PM.

[nicklegends]

Again, it's not to make reading the bible any more convenient; it's just to prove how precisely today's technology can manufacture things. The 300,000 words are used just to put everything in perspective.

[Echo Blade]

Most likely science won't stop there. I've got a feeling they might use that kind of stuff for the military. Imagine microscopic bombs, microphones, cameras, grenades(same as bombs but a little harder to use). Things might start to spiral into calamity "if" that happens though. Like I said it's just a feeling

Edited by Echo Blade, 24 December 2007 - 01:30 PM.

[The Satellite]

It's not the Bible that has a point to it, that was just a test to see what could be done.

Yeah. It was said that they used the Bible due to its size. It's bigger than the Lord of the Rings, folks, even including its appendices.

[Hunter P Brown]

Heh, that's pretty cool.

Now we need enlargement rays. Godzilla in our day anyone?

[Russ]

A shrinking ray! Awesome! Now we can even reach ants with the gospel. . Now all we need is a growth ray, and all of last decades science fiction movies will have come true!

[NoeL]

A shrinking ray! Awesome! Now we can even reach ants with the gospel. . Now all we need is a growth ray, and all of last decades science fiction movies will have come true!

Preaching to ants? May the flying spaghetti monster have mercy on them all...