Smallest Map in the World

Wow, technology sure is making the world seem so small and accessible these days. Computer and phone screens provide us, instantly, with the latest geographically-related information, the world is definitely now at our fingertips.

The Photonics Research Group of Ghent University-IMEC has just created a world map, a small map, very small map, tiny, almost infinitesimally minute. Using the application of nano-technology, IMEC have created this world map through microelectronic fabrication. At a scale of 1:1 trillionth they have reduced the 40,000 km equator to 40 micrometers – a map half the width of a human hair. It may not help your navigation around the globe, but the processes used to create it may have a major influence on future technological advances.

For more details see their blog post It's a small world...

By comparison our smallest world atlases The Times Atlas of the World Mini edition and the Collins World Atlas Mini edition are pocket-sized world atlases, presenting detailed, accurate and attractive maps of all the world in a convenient size.