MADISON, Wis., March 27 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists are creating large unique models of nano-sized structures to teach nanoscience to blind students.
The smallest object we can see with our eyes is thousands of times larger than a typical nano-sized structure -- even the most powerful microscopes can't peer into the nanoscale directly.
"The fact is, we're all blind at the nanoscale," said Andrew Greenberg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and that's why nanoscale experiments offer great opportunities to teach blind and visually impaired students about nanoscience.
To give blind students a literal feel of nanoscience and technology, Greenberg, the director of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, and biochemistry student Mohammed Farhoud, are building three-dimensional models of nano-surfaces large enough to be explored with the hands.
Their first attempt replicates "NanoBucky," a nanoscale version of the UW-Madison mascot that's so small 9,000 of them could fit on the head of a pin. The plaster 3-D models are tens of thousands of times larger, faithfully reproducing every NanoBucky nanofiber.
Greenberg and Farhoud presented their work Tuesday in Chicago during the 233rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
