# Mini Lisa

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2013 microscopic replica of the Mona Lisa

*Mini Lisa* compared to its inspiration, *Mona Lisa*

The ***Mini Lisa*** is a [nanoscale](/source/Nanoscopic_scale) [replica](/source/Mona_Lisa_replicas_and_reinterpretations) of the *[Mona Lisa](/source/Mona_Lisa)*. It was created in 2013 by Keith Carroll, a [Georgia Institute of Technology](/source/Georgia_Institute_of_Technology) PhD candidate, in order to demonstrate a technique called [thermochemical nanolithography](/source/Thermochemical_nanolithography) (TCNL) that was invented at the university. In TCNL, a tiny [cantilever](/source/Cantilever) viewed through an atomic force microscope uses heat to activate a series of chemical reactions that create new molecules. Greater amounts of heat create more molecules which lighten the surface of the substrate, allowing a [grayscale image](/source/Grayscale_image) to be created.[1]

The *Mini Lisa* is just 30 micrometres (0.0012 in) wide, about a third the width of a human hair.[1] It is roughly 1/25,000th the size of the *Mona Lisa*. The *Mini Lisa* was created by making hundreds of individual points each 125 nanometres (4.9×10−6 in) wide.[1] Carroll decided to recreate the *Mona Lisa* after a challenger claimed TCNL was not precise enough to create a work of art.[2] He created an automated process to create any image desired based on a supplied heat map.[3]

The *Mini Lisa* project, which also included recreations of photographs by [Ansel Adams](/source/Ansel_Adams), was published in *[Langmuir](/source/Langmuir_(journal))* in August 2013.[2] The paper's lead author, physicist Jennifer Curtis, said the experiment demonstrated for the first time that it was possible not only to manipulate molecules on a nano-scale, but also precisely control how many are there. She said that TCNL "should enable a wide range of previously inaccessible experiments" in a diverse set of fields as it evolves.[1][3] The project also received mention in the popular press.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-CSM_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-CSM_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-CSM_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-CSM_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-CSM_1-4) Eoin O'Carroll (August 7, 2013). ["'Mini Lisa': Georgia Tech researchers create world's tiniest da Vinci reproduction"](https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0807/Mini-Lisa-Georgia-Tech-researchers-create-world-s-tiniest-da-Vinci-reproduction). *Christian Science Monitor*. Retrieved August 8, 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Independent_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Independent_2-1) Nick Clark (August 7, 2013). ["Small is beautiful: The molecular art that's made a mini-masterpiece of the Mona Lisa"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/small-is-beautiful-the-molecular-art-thats-made-a-minimasterpiece-of-the-mona-lisa-8750995.html). *The Independent*. [Archived](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220515/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/small-is-beautiful-the-molecular-art-thats-made-a-minimasterpiece-of-the-mona-lisa-8750995.html) from the original on 2022-05-15. Retrieved August 8, 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-LAT_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-LAT_3-1) Deborah Netburn (August 6, 2013). ["Microscopic Mona Lisa reproduction, created on a bet"](http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-microscopic-mona-lisa-reproduction-20130806,0,5555110.story). *Los Angeles Times*. Retrieved August 8, 2013.

## External links

- [Scientific paper](http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/la400996w) on the *Mini Lisa* project

v t e Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa Lisa del Giocondo (subject) Replicas Isleworth Mona Lisa (16th century) Mona Lisa (Prado, c. 1503–1516) Hermitage Mona Lisa (c. 1550) L.H.O.O.Q. (1919) Mini Lisa (2013) Related Replicas and reinterpretations Speculations Male Mona Lisa theories Two–Mona Lisa theory Timeline of fictional stories about the Mona Lisa La Joconde nue 1911 theft Vincenzo Peruggia Eduardo de Valfierno Yves Chaudron Louis Béroud On screen The Theft of the Mona Lisa (1931) Arsène Lupin (1932) The Mona Lisa Has Been Stolen (1966) City of Death (1979) Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (1992) Mona Lisa's Revenge (2009) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Music Mona Lisa (1915 opera) "Mona Lisa" (1950 song) "Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile" (1984 song) "Lisa Mona Lisa" (1988 song) "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" (2011 song) "The Mona Lisa" (2013 song) In Search of Mona Lisa (2019 EP) Literature The Second Mrs. Giaconda (1975) I, Mona Lisa (2006) The Smile (2008)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mini Lisa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Lisa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Lisa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.