Scientists Make World's Smallest Violin
Scientists in the United Kingdom have made what may be the world's smallest violin, using advanced nanotechnology.
The microscopic instrument, measuring 35 by 13 microns, and constructed from platinum, is less than the width of a human hair, said Loughborough University researchers.
The tiny violin was created to demonstrate the accuracy and versatility of a state-of-the-art nanolithography system.
Kelly Morrison, the head of Loughborough University's Physics Department, said the system would allow scientists "to design experiments that probe materials in different ways-using light, magnetism, or electricity-and observe their responses."
Scientists said the technology could accelerate breakthroughs in sectors such as computing and energy, allowing researchers to build and study materials at the smallest scale.
The miniature violin was made using a NanoFrazor, a system that employs thermal scanning probe lithography.
This technique uses a heated, needlelike tip to sculpt material at nanometer precision. According to the university's press release, the process began with a chip being covered in two layers a gel-like material. The pattern was then etched, washed and coated in platinum, then cleaned again to show the final form.
Each violin took about three hours to produce after the fabrication sequence was determined, but it took months of development. The violin, which is only an image at microscopic scale, cannot produce sound.
The institution said the violin had not been officially confirmed as the world's smallest, though it is smaller than the diameter of a human hair, which typically measures 17 to 180 microns (a micron is a millionth of a meter).
Research projects using the nanolithography system to investigate applications-such as developing energy-efficient and faster data storage by combining advanced materials and nanoparticles-are underway at the university.
Other research explores quantum materials to make next-generation memory devices smaller, faster and more reliable, and the nanolithography system helps to produce accurate test structures.
The team said the knowledge gained from the violin process was vital for these advances.
The expression "world's smallest violin" is often used to mock exaggerated complaints. It is believed to have originated in a 1978 episode of M*A*S*H when Major Margaret Houlihan, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together, said: "It's the world's smallest violin, and it's playing just for you," According to ClassicFM.
Kelly Morrison, the head of Loughborough University's Physics Department, said in a press release: "Though creating the world's smallest violin may seem like fun and games, a lot of what we've learned in the process has actually laid the groundwork for the research we're now undertaking."
She added: "I'm really excited about the level of control and possibilities we have with the setup. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can achieve-but also what everyone else can do with the system."
The researchers plan to use the experience and protocols established during this project in ongoing work on data storage and quantum material studies, furthering research into advanced computing technologies.
Related Articles
Woman's Friend Lives 2,000 Miles Away, Sends Iconic Birthday GiftViolinist on Southwest Flight Ignites DebateItzhak Perlman: I Had Polio-Its Resurgence Angers Me When We Have a VaccineAdorable Moment Little Girl Hugs Violinist Melts Viewers' Hearts
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why Nano Nuclear Energy Stock Was Red-Hot This Week
The nuclear energy sector got a boost from proposed modifications to President Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill." The segment would receive an extension to the expiration date of key tax credits. 10 stocks we like better than Nano Nuclear Energy › Not for the first time this year, Nano Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ: NNE) stock was going somewhat nuclear over the past few trading sessions. On news that a Senate committee desires changes in President Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" that favor the once-struggling industry, interest rose sharply in nuclear stocks. Nano was a direct beneficiary of this; according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, its share price had ballooned by nearly 25% week to date as of Friday before market open. The bill is an ambitious budget reconciliation proposal that would reshape the federal budget. Early in the week, one new change floated by the Senate Finance Committee was an adjustment of the tax credits the feds provide to energy producers. Some power-generation technologies currently out of favor with the present administration would have their tax credit expiration dates brought forward, while others would be granted extensions. Happily for Nano investors, nuclear energy is in the latter category. The committee is proposing that nuclear's energy production tax credit, currently set to be phased out on Dec. 31, 2032, have a new expiration date of Dec. 31, 2036. The president has been active in his support for nuclear power, which in the recent past was largely shunned. Its reputational decline was due mostly to high-profile accidents such as the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, and the catastrophic 1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl plant located in Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union). Despite its very positive-sounding name, the "Big, Beautiful Bill" is controversial and contentious among both legislators and the U.S. public. Given that, it's very possible that it will be hammered out through more compromises -- and these might lead lawmakers to rescind the nuclear tax credit extension idea. Still, the proposal currently on the table at least indicates continued strong, top-level support for nuclear power, and that can only help companies like Nano. Before you buy stock in Nano Nuclear Energy, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Nano Nuclear Energy wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Nano Nuclear Energy Stock Was Red-Hot This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Datadog (DDOG) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know
In the latest close session, Datadog (DDOG) was down 1.95% at $127.50. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.22% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.08%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.51%. The data analytics and cloud monitoring company's stock has climbed by 12.42% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.98% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.45%. Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Datadog in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Datadog is projected to report earnings of $0.41 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 4.65%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $789.55 million, up 22.36% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.69 per share and revenue of $3.23 billion. These totals would mark changes of -7.14% and +20.17%, respectively, from last year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Datadog should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook. Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system. The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 3.1% lower. Datadog is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). In terms of valuation, Datadog is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 76.76. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 27.94 of its industry. We can also see that DDOG currently has a PEG ratio of 9.51. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Internet - Software stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.11 based on yesterday's closing prices. The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, finds itself in the top 22% echelons of all 250+ industries. The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. To follow DDOG in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Datadog, Inc. (DDOG) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Stock Will Be Worth More Than Palantir by 2030
Palantir is thriving in the world of enterprise software, and investors continue to cheer on the stock. While following the momentum can be tempting, Palantir's valuation is historically high and looks unsustainable. Rising demand for chips and AI infrastructure over the next five years bodes well for service providers such as CoreWeave. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Throughout 2025, technology stocks have been whipsawed by the latest news or rumors surrounding the economy, interest rates, and tariffs. One stock that has demonstrated a degree of immunity to these dynamics is data mining darling Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). With shares up 82% on the year, Palantir is the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 index so far this year. While this level of momentum may cause trepidation among cautious investors, more bullish analysts, such as Dan Ives, see the rise of Palantir as an unstoppable force. In fact, Ives thinks Palantir is on its way to joining the trillion-dollar club before the end of the decade. Personally, I am in a different camp. Right now, Palantir is trading at valuation multiples that are far higher than those investors witnessed in the late 1990s during the dot-com bubble. In short, I think a large-scale valuation normalization is in store for Palantir. By contrast, emerging infrastructure services provider CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) looks well-positioned to dominate the next chapter of the artificial intelligence (AI) narrative. Let's explore Palantir's rise and why I think the stock is due for a pullback. From there, I'll dig into CoreWeave's underlying business and explain how I think the company could eclipse Palantir's size over the next five years. Palantir's breakout moment occurred in April 2023 when the company released a new product called the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). Palantir markets AIP to both the private and public sectors -- with the U.S. Military being one of Palantir's key partners. Unlike other data analytics platforms, AIP differentiates itself by helping large, complex businesses build ontologies. An ontology is a detailed visualization (i.e., a map) that illustrates various aspects of a business by breaking down revenue sources, cost structures, and other critical information in extreme detail. This process can help executive-level decision-makers model simulations using real-time data to assess the impact of different variables on the business. As investors can see from the figures above, Palantir's customer count is surging thanks to AIP's popularity. The subtle takeaway from the graphs above is that AIP has helped Palantir branch out beyond its heavy reliance on public sector deals, as evidenced by the faster growth rate in commercial customer counts compared to overall customer growth at the company. Given these trends, I think it is reasonable to say that software has been top of mind for AI developers over the last couple of years. Nevertheless, I believe CoreWeave's long-term prospects are more robust compared to Palantir's. CoreWeave specializes in a cloud-based infrastructure through which it rents out access to Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU) architectures to its customers. To help paint a picture of how strong demand for chip access is expected to become, consider that global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company forecasts $6.7 trillion spent on AI infrastructure by 2030. The majority of this spend is likely going to be allocated to hardware products (chips) for data centers. In my eyes, augmenting software with more AI-centric capabilities is part of the first phase of broader investment in the technology. Hence, Palantir has been a major beneficiary. But over the next several years, I think investing in AI infrastructure will become a greater focus for AI's biggest spenders -- namely, cloud hyperscaler developers such as Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Oracle, Meta Platforms, OpenAI, and others. CoreWeave already works with many of these companies, and I expect rising infrastructure spend to serve as a bellwether for the company in the coming years. The charts below illustrate Wall Street's consensus revenue and earnings estimates for Palantir and CoreWeave over the next couple of years. Per the figures above, investors can see that CoreWeave is already on pace to generate more revenue than Palantir this year. And yet, Palantir currently boasts a market capitalization of $326 billion -- nearly fourfold that of CoreWeave. On top of that, analysts expect CoreWeave's revenue to rise by more than threefold while transitioning to profitability within two years. By contrast, Palantir's revenue and profits aren't expected to even double during this same period. While these estimates will likely change as both companies continue to form new strategic partnerships and release new products, I think, broadly speaking, the secular trends supporting the AI narrative lean more in favor of CoreWeave over the next five years. Nvidia is expected to continue releasing more GPU architectures, while cloud hyperscalers show no signs of slowing down AI capital expenditures (capex). At some point, I think the reality of Palantir's actual growth will catch up with the sober overzealous sentiment currently surrounding the company. Ultimately, I believe this will result in a sell-off by growth investors seeking more robust prospects. Although I am optimistic about CoreWeave's long-term prospects, I think the stock is overbought right now. Following its initial public offering earlier this year, shares of CoreWeave are up by nearly 300%. For now, CoreWeave is exhibiting the behavior of a meme stock. I think the prudent strategy is to begin initiating a position at a more reasonable price point. In terms of the big picture, though, CoreWeave's long-term prospects look encouraging, and I believe the company's valuation will steadily climb over the next five years at a steeper rate than Palantir's. Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $881,731!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Stock Will Be Worth More Than Palantir by 2030 was originally published by The Motley Fool
