How to grow a microscopic alien garden

You're going to need some sodium silicate

Alien Garden
(Image credit: (Wim Noorduin))

Some sculptors work in marble, others in wood… but Harvard University biomineralization researcher Wim Noorduin creates his masterpieces inside a beaker. You'd be hard-pressed to put his flowery sculptures on a regular museum pedestal, though. They're actually microscopic crystal structures many times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us