Montreal (AFP)
Micro-homes are on the rise, but the one presented on Wednesday by a Canadian university breaks all records: 10 microns long, it is "the smallest house" in the world, according to its designers.
Designed according to the aesthetics of typical Christmas gingerbread houses, it was cut in silicone using an ion beam, which acts like a sandblaster, all under the eye of a microscope. electronic, explains the researcher behind the project, Travis Casagrande.
Spectacular photos released by the Canadian Center for Electron Microscopy show a house with luxury details, including small bricks from the fireplace, window frames or a doormat shaped like a Canadian flag.
Long of 10 microns (1 micron, or micrometer: 1 thousandth of a millimeter) and broad of six, it is much smaller than a similar micromaison carried out last year by a French laboratory of Besançon, Femto-St, ensures the Canadian university. However, she claims that she did not seek to beat any record.
The house is placed on the head of a snowman: the whole is photographed next to a human hair ... which looks like a huge tree trunk under the microscope.
The center is equipped with ten electron microscopes and other equipment mainly used for research purposes.
© 2019 AFP