ABSTRACT
This is the second of a series of digital drawings parodying an iconic image in nanotechnology: ‘Quantum Corral’. The original image shows IBM scientist Don Eigler’s use of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) to arrange 48 iron atoms into a ring in order to ‘corral’ some surface state electrons, force them into quantum states, and document the resulting electron wave. The image provides access to selected scientific information but it also deceives, in terms of color, shape, scale, orientation etc. While it is interesting to explore ways to generate scientific visualizations that are more accurate, the Visual Arts also enjoy investigating the inaccurate or absurd. Eigler’s Eyes 2 makes no pretensions about being true to the nanoscale - popping out self-assembling humans and using a wide array of inaccurate surface imagery – instead it asks how we note and perceive truth.
