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Culture: Art: Sculpture: Sand
World's Tiniest Sand Castle   (+20, -1)  [vote for, against]
One grain, one castle.

Imagine a sand castle carved into one grain of sand. Tiny, huh? That's the point!

Using a microcsope and a laser carving device the sand sculptor can carve out intricately designed sand castles out of single grains of sand. Put on display under a large powerful magnifying glass for the ultimate "ooohs" and "ahhhs" from family and friends.
-- Machiavelli, Apr 20 2005

Blasted Sand Busts Blasted_20Sand_20Busts
[FarmerJohn, Apr 20 2005]

Stardust microchips http://stardust.jpl...icrochip/index.html
(I am on chip#2) [Klaatu, Apr 21 2005]

Smallest sclupture... http://news.bbc.co..../health/1493585.stm
...ever. 10µm long. Not a castle nor made of sand, but cool none-the-less. [st3f, Apr 22 2005]

till some idiot treads on it.
-- po, Apr 20 2005


For the claustro-castlephobic not. I'm off to the world's largest inhabited castle not. Tiniest bun.
-- mensmaximus, Apr 20 2005


Actually, I bet it would be pretty tread-resistant.
-- bungston, Apr 20 2005


It would be placed in a clear box to be placed on a pedistal, museum style, so no one would be able to tread on it. Fear not!
-- Machiavelli, Apr 20 2005


I've seen the world's smallest paper airplanes (or so they claimed). Amazingly small, in glass cases with magnifying glasses set up. It was in the model airplane area of a place called the Nut Tree, which appropriately had a little airport (no, not that little).

I'm picturing this in a boardwalk-style amusement park on the beach.
-- Worldgineer, Apr 20 2005


I remember seeing an exhibit of intricate paintings painted on the heads of needles when I was a kid. It was set up exactly the way you described the tiny paper planes, [World]. They were pretty amazing.
-- Machiavelli, Apr 20 2005


Heh (+) The castle has been in my family for generations.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Apr 21 2005


STEM/AFM. Make a single sandcastle molecule.
-- bristolz, Apr 21 2005


At the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego, where the world's money goes to die, you can buy single grains of rice with names written on them.

I've also heard of an entire Bible that was one-inch square.
-- disbomber, Apr 21 2005


"Watch me write on rice!" vendors used to litter the streets of Las Vegas, too.
-- AfroAssault, Apr 21 2005


Using a bucket capacitor, and a spade connection on the laser, of course.
-- Ling, Apr 21 2005


There are those "Your Name on a Grain of Rice!" booths here, too. You'll see 6 or 7 little tables advertising this on the same boardwalk that's not even a mile long. And you'll never see any customers near them.

[Bubba], Blake might have the world on a grain of sand, but did he have 13 croissants and a message board with lovely people to go with it?
-- Machiavelli, Apr 21 2005


yeah, Blake was a miserable old sod compared to our Mach.
-- po, Apr 21 2005


hear hear [po] - sandcastles, worlds or even just regular grains of sand, we'd much rather spend some quality time with [Mach] than old 'Flakey Blakey' any day.
-- zen_tom, Apr 21 2005


Aw, shucks. Y'all are just so sweet.
-- Machiavelli, Apr 22 2005


Kerplus [+]
-- contracts, Apr 22 2005


Since the smallest sculpture (a resin bull made by focusing two lasers to solidify it) (see link) is 10µm long and the average grain of sand about 100µm, you might be able to get a fair bit of detail if you can find a way of etching it without blowing it apart.
-- st3f, Apr 22 2005


Plus there's a source for sculptures to adorn your castle.
-- Worldgineer, Apr 22 2005



random, halfbakery