I like my ramen bowls slightly larger, thank you

According to an Associated Press story, Japanese scientists say they have used cutting-edge technology to create a noodle bowl so small it can be seen only through a microscope.

A mechanical engineering professor and his students at the University of Tokyo used a carbon-based material to produce a noodle bowl with a diameter 1/25,000 of an inch in a project aimed at developing nanotube-processing technology.
The Japanese-style ramen bowl was carved out of microscopic nanotubes, which are tube-shaped pieces of carbon, measuring about 1/10,000th of the thickness of a human hair. They are being explored for a wide range of uses in electronics and medicine because their structure endows them with powerful physical properties such as a strength greater than steel.

It seems kind of frivolous to me that one would waste time making an ultramicroscopic ramen bowl, but the technology behind it is anything but wasteful.

Nanotechnology, or manipulation of elements on the subatomic level, fascinates me because of the more important projects being explored, including finding cures for cancer, creating fabrics that don't stain, making solar panels only as thick as a sheet of paper. It's a trend toward making products lighter but at the same time stronger and more efficient.

If you want to know more about the technology that is driving future product development, click on the links below:

NANOTECHNOLOGY VIDEO - VERY INFORMATIVE

How Nanotechnology Works

Nanotechnology Portal

Science Daily Nanotechnology News