10-micron-wide flowers can bloom just like the real thing

A team of researchers from the RMIT-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology Research Centre has developed a technique to create 10-micron-wide flower-like structures that bloom like the real thing. The group mixed two ingredients in water to make that happen: NDI-bearing phosphonic acid and melamine. As the water evaporates, the components undergo a chemical reaction that resembles a flower blooming. It takes three hours for the combination to fully form, which you can see below the fold. Note that each "flower" is so small, the researchers say you can fit ten along the width of a single human hair strand.

Now, if you're thinking "So, what do we do with a microflower?" According to lead scientist Dr. Sheshanath Boshanale, microscopic flower structures could "break frontiers in a range of scientific fields." The team's creation might be tiny, but it could lead to advancements in biotech, nanotech and organic electronics, among other fields.

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