Prehistoric ant. Hand holding an enlarged model of a fossil ant created on a 3-D inkjet printer. The ant was found in 100-million-year-old opaque ambe
Prehistoric ant. Hand holding an enlarged model of a fossil ant created on a 3-D inkjet printer. The ant was found in 100-million-year-old opaque amber (fossilised conifer plant resin) from the Charente-Maritime region in France. The amber was scanned using X-rays from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. This produces X-rays that are one thousand billion times brighter than hospital X-rays and can image the interior of opaque amber samples at high resolution. Multiple scans of the sample creates virtual 'slices' that can be reconstructed into 3-D computer models or printed into physical models. 3-D inkjet printers create models by glueing fine powder layer by layer.
Size: 5002px × 3666px
Photo credit: © PASCAL GOETGHELUCK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 100, 3-, 3d, amber, animal, animals, ant, biological, biology, enlargement, fauna, formicidae, fossil, fossilised, fossils, holding, human, inclusion, inkjet, insect, invertebrate, invertebrates, lithography, mid-cretaceous, million, model, nature, palaeontology, paleontology, people, person, prehistoric, prehistory, print, printer, printing, prototyper, prototyping, rapid, scale, trapped, wildlife, years, zoological, zoology
