World's Smallest Snowman

In a bid to create festive cheer, scientists at the National Physical Laboratory have created the world's smallest snowman and other micro-delights.

This colourful snowman would be dwarfed by a human hair – at 0.01 millimetres or 10 micron across it is only a fifth the width of a typical strand. It is made from two tin beads, which are normally used to calibrate electron microscopes, welded together with platinum.

The original is less colourful but no less impressive. A focused beam of platinum ions was used to deposit metal and create the figure's nose. An ion beam was also used to gouge out the eyes and mouth.

To create this sculpture, a slab of silicon, like that used to make computer chips, was carved into shape using an ion beam.

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