Why You Can't Read the World's Smallest Book: Only with an Electron Microscope

11.02.2024 12:37

With the passage of time and the development of technology, the already small books have become completely microscopic - they are no longer possible to hold in your hand and even with the most careful examination they are impossible to see with the naked eye.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, in 2007 the smallest book was Malcolm Douglas Chaplin's Little Ted of Turniptown, published by Canadian illustrator Robert Chaplin in a limited edition of 100 copies.

The book even received its own International Standard ISBN number.

The dimensions of this unique book are 0.07 mm by 0.10 mm.

It is made from a single sheet of polished silicon crystal and has 30 pages arranged in a table. The letters are printed on the pages using a beam of gallium ions.

A book
Photo: © Belnovosti

This amazing book was created at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada).

Each page measures 11 microns by 15 microns. For comparison, a human hair is 70 microns thick, so you would need an electron microscope to read the book.

Alternatively, you can purchase the "big edition" - a regular version of the book that was released in 2012 under the same title.

Earlier we talked about what the largest snowman in the world looked like.

Elena Shimanovskaya Author: Elena Shimanovskaya Editor of Internet resources