Nano nature - Richard Jones

An exploration of nature's hidden beauties, as revealed by the scanning electron microscope

Nature is renowned for its staggering beauty. But it conceals a hidden world more stunning than anything we can see with the naked eye, a world that can only be viewed through a scanning electron microscope. At the furthest reaches of human technological achievement, this powerful microscope can magnify up to an astounding 200,000 times, producing images that unveil a world of unimaginable beauty and compelling complexity.

More surreal than any works of art, Nano Nature brings these images out of the high-tech science laboratory and into the public domain, revealing a wealth of extraordinary patterns and improbable structures. The scales of a moth appear as delicately fluted leaves, individual bristles on a caterpillar's face are as distinct as trees in a forest, arrow-headed hairs on a carpet beetle larva look like spears in a warrior army. Combining spectacular imagery with fascinating narrative, this book uncovers an amazing world beyond imagination, giving us a unique glimpse into the hidden complexities of nature in all its glory.