When the teeth wear down, the soft organic material wears away first. The hard calcite grains remain when they are fixed at the points of breakage and wear of the tooth, and thus it remains hard until they also weather together with the layer of organic material that envelops them - and reveal the next layer with the grains. The front of the tooth always remains sharp with the grain on the tip.
Two days ago the decision to make lasagna formed in my mind. I chopped sweet potatoes, onions and carrots into thin cubes, added coarse ground beef and created the lust for the palate and the eye.
Today I wanted to cook pasta with sweet potato. I tried to cut the sweet potato and discovered - what a pity - that the knife had become dull.
This is a phenomenon known to all cooks. The knife, when it hits the cutting surface, loses its edge. There is no way to avoid the dulling process, and it comes from the very act of working with the knife. The only way to restore the original sharpness is through re-sharpening.
is that so? Nature proves otherwise.
See the teeth of the tiny sea urchins. The hedgehogs dig niches for themselves in the rock, where they bury themselves so as not to be swept away by the currents. For this they gnaw the rock with their sharp teeth. They do not stop doing this task for the rest of their lives, and we know that their teeth wear down at a fast rate - and yet they remain sharp.
In order to understand how the mechanism works, in the hope that one day we will be able to imitate it also in the simple kitchen knives, a study was recently conducted that examined the teeth closely using sophisticated X-ray and other microscopes. The teeth, it turns out, consist of a combination of two different materials: one consists of hard calcite grains, with layers of relatively soft organic material in between.
When the teeth wear down, the soft organic material wears away first. The hard calcite grains remain when they are fixed at the points of breakage and wear of the tooth, and thus it remains hard until they also weather together with the layer of organic material that envelops them - and reveal the next layer with the grains. The front of the tooth always remains sharp with the grain on the tip.
Is it possible to create knives that will never wear out? Theoretically it would be possible to create a knife with a similar structure of calcite grains and soft layers between them. Such a knife will remain sharp for a very long time, through countless uses.
But why stop here? After all, in principle, our knife will still wear and tear in the end, when all the layers it contains disappear.
The sea urchin copes with the problem by continuing to secrete the organic substances and calcite grains into the tooth, thus renewing it incessantly. If we wanted to stretch the imagination to the limit, we could think of a future knife containing bacteria or cells that secrete and create the layers themselves. They'll need a watery environment (so we might have to keep the knife in a bowl of water once a month), but there's no theoretical reason why they can't do the job.
This is an example of the power of nanotechnology. By playing with the nanometric composition of matter, we can determine its properties and give it abilities normally reserved only for living things. Now the only question is when such an invention will reach the market at an affordable price, and if there will be a demand for it at all.
7 תגובות
The wonders of nano technology know how to sharpen a knife to a level that does not wear out and soon more news will be published about the ability of this technology that will leave us speechless in the face of the power of the technology. I have one question for those of us who deal with technology. Do you all have the ability to develop technology that will sharpen human morals that will not be able to fade as he grows older, that will sharpen his humanity and generosity?
As a person whose occupation is a criminal lawyer, I come across dozens of cases of various criminal offenses every day that could have been avoided if there was a device that sharpens the morals of criminals and prevents them from degenerating into crime.
Someone said that the only thing we will be sharpened by using it is the tongue
I think leaving the knife in a liquid that will contain germs is very similar to the sharpening action so not sure it's sophisticated enough.
But what comes to my mind is not knives at all, these are teeth!!!
What if our teeth, when can we grow them with germs, implant root implants that will grow into new teeth.
In my opinion, the field of dentistry must undergo a revolution, especially in the nanotechnological developments.
Dentistry has not changed in many decades, again the boring fillings are as annoying as possible.
When can we renew our teeth to be new, sharp, beautiful and clean!
I already heard years ago that experiments are being done on clotted teeth in order to implant them in place of our damaged teeth.
Who will pick up the glove and write a column about the innovations in the field and when can we enjoy it?
It's amazing that a sea urchin has to eat rocks to be what it is...
Shahar, the knife that sharpens does not corrode. Not in this case.
The work surface and the cutting numb her. It's a quick process. Note that at the shawarma stand, a knife is sharpened every 5 minutes.
It has already been proven that metal in a glassy state (liquid metal cooled at an extremely rapid rate) exhibits the desired properties of a non-wearing knife. The grain size of such a metal is nanometric. Glass metal is exceptionally resistant to corrosion, which is the main cause of wear and tear (it is likely that the phenomenon described on a knife that was damaged within a day is due to not being careful to dry the knife after use). It is already used in special transformers. Apparently the production cost does not justify the use of razors that otherwise shave for years with the same knife made of glass metal.
A cat's nail always stays as sharp as a regrown Japanese knife
A diamond knife almost never wears out and works the same way