Cornell is the place to go if you like looking at small things with expensive machinery. The University recently made its $US500,000 micro-CT scanner available for public as well as academic usage.
For $US40 to $US75 a pop, you can use the instrument to look inside stuff like a mouse heart, a fat deposit or even a Habanero Chile. The system uses a computer and low-dose X-rays to generate colour 3D images. Though the specimen does get irradiated, it’s not damaged or killed during the process.
And the detail is stunning. You get a moving 3D view of internal structures as small as a human hair. Check out the videos at Cornell’s website and be wowed by the technology. [PhysOrg]