BBC NEWS | Science/Nature: "Tiny representations of flowers and trees that are less than one thousandth the width of a human hair have been created by scientists in Cambridge, UK. The nano-sized plants are "grown" from tiny droplets of the liquid form of the metal gallium on a silicon surface. By varying the temperature and pressure of the growth process the wires can be fused together to form a variety of complex shapes in the range of 1-5 microns (millionths of a metre).
The scientists then expose the droplets to a gas containing methane and a reaction causes the gas to condense to form tiny wires of silicon carbide. The images appear in the Institute of Physics journal Nanotechnology. "Two that are currently being explored are their use as water repellent coatings and as a base for a new type of solar cell," he explained. "
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