On September 28, the exhibition “Images of the Nanoworld” opened at the Library of the Saucache Campus (Arica) of Universidad de Tarapacá (UTA). It brings together 12 images of nanoparticles of various materials, captured through electron microscopy by researchers at the Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, CEDENNA, who then applied color and textures to amaze us with the beautiful photographs that bring this original exhibition to life. From Chile’s northern gateway, it begins its tour through different regions of the country, bringing this scientific discipline to a diverse audience through a playful encounter between science and art.
It will be on display until October 15 at the Saucache Campus and will then move to Iquique, to Universidad de Tarapacá’s campus there, where it will remain until the end of that month before moving on to the Valparaíso Region.
This exhibition seeks to spark the curiosity and interest of people of all ages in nanotechnology, which includes applications developed from the new properties materials exhibit at the nanoscale. Some applications have existed for a long time, ranging from sunscreens to paints with specific properties, including components in our computers and cell phones, as well as revolutionary cancer treatments.
The acting rector of UTA, Dra. Jenniffer Peralta, stated that “the scientific work associated with CEDENNA shown in this art exhibition takes us from the nano to the infinite through an adventure that fuses science with art, bringing together the perspectives of researchers, professionals, students and the community at large. Multidisciplinary initiatives like this allow us to bring the scientific world closer to children, young people and families in the regions. We are grateful to be the first stop on this tour. We hope university students, schoolchildren and the general public can be part of this fascinating exhibition at our Arica and Iquique campuses.”
Art and Science together
To open this exhibition in Arica, CEDENNA’s executive director traveled to the city, Dr. Juan Escrig, who said that this exhibition “fills us with pride because it reflects the work of many of our students, expressed through a playful language that uses shape and color as tools, applied to real images of the nanoworld captured at our center through electron microscopy.”
He added that science and art share a deep connection in their search for truth, beauty and understanding of the world around us. Both fields require fundamental human qualities such as curiosity, creativity, effort and dedication to flourish and enrich our understanding of reality.
“Today we celebrate and are grateful for the opportunity to show that art and science can and should walk together. And along that same path, we reiterate our ongoing willingness to collaborate across institutions and disciplines with the common purpose of responding in the best way to the new challenges humanity poses to us.”, he concluded.
For a decade, the Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, CEDENNA, has held an annual contest among its researchers to collect artistic images of the nano world, which are used for the calendars the center produces each year and distributes free of charge to schools across the country. A selection of these images brings the exhibition to life, as well as a beautiful book full of color and shapes that includes 36 photographs collected from these contests. The book is available free of charge in digital format for anyone who wants it, by downloading it HERE
Nothing is what it seems
Walking through the exhibition we find a springtime butterfly flying among pollen grains; but in fact we are looking at a porous hydrogel containing cellulose nanofibrils used to remediate colored water.
A beautiful pink jellyfish among apparent underwater rocks is not what it seems. It is titanium dioxide (TiO2), which in its most common phase is known as rutile, with interesting optical properties described centuries ago.
Another photograph shows an aggregate of vanadium oxide tubes in different oxidation states (V (5+) and V (4+)). The resemblance to coral is striking.
Each image is accompanied by a scientific description showing what is really behind each photograph, demonstrating the wonders we can find in this invisible world, which electron microscopy reveals to us.
Important information: A nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter, which is why nanometer-sized systems can only be observed with specialized microscopy.
