The RBNI Nano Bible
“The fact that the Bible contains a lot of information – approximately 10 million bits – is central. The Nano Bible project demonstrates the miniaturization at our disposal…”
-Prof. Uri Sivan
-Prof. Uri Sivan
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Jerusalem in May 2009, President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, presented him with a very special gift. RBNI scientists worked around the clock to prepare the exhibition piece of the world’s first Nano Bible.
The over 1.2 million letters of the Hebrew Bible were etched into a silicon chip at Technion’s Zisapel Nanoelectronics Center, using a focused beam of energetic gallium ions. When the ions strike the target, they splash some atoms out of it, thereby etching into it. A holy speck of dust, the Nano Bible was mounted on a one-centimeter thick transparent stage and presented within an authentic leather cover of a full-sized Bible.
The Nano Bible was created and produced by Prof. Uri Sivan and his doctoral student Ohad Zohar
“How small can the Bible be?” Technion Nano students heard the call.
The Bible is only 0.5 square millimeters – much smaller than the head of a pin.At the Zisapel Nanoelectronics Center the text was etched with a focused beam of energetic gallium ions.