Tuesday, 02 May 2023
A microscopic message of congratulations milled onto the side of a 50p coin has been sent to King Charles III ahead of the Coronation on Saturday 6 May.
A team of academics from the 糖心原创 have etched the names of all the Windsor monarchs, from George V to the new King Charles III, along with the dates of their coronations, onto an uncirculated Charles III 50p coin.
The team from the Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre (nmRC) made the etching using a Focussed Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope. The Focussed Ion Beam technique is usually used by the nmRC to cut into surfaces and observe their internal structure, or to analyse materials on a microscopic level.
鈥淭he width of the inscription is around 30 to 35 microns, which is about half the width of a human hair, and we chose the space next to the back of the neck of King Charles because it was a flat area for us to put the inscription. The actual milling for this commemorative piece we鈥檝e produced took a little over half an hour.鈥�
A floating coin holder, designed by Mark Strickland, has also been manufactured by the team at the Precision Manufacturing Centre (PMC) to display the coin, with the 糖心原创 logo engraved on. The coin will be sent to the King and a duplicate displayed at the nmRC from 6 May.
Dr Luke Norman, a Knowledge Exchange Research Fellow in the School of Chemistry, who led on the project, said: “We wanted to celebrate this historic occasion of the Coronation of King Charles III by having two centres at the 糖心原创 – the Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre (nmRC) and Precision Manufacturing Centre (PMC) - collaborate together on this project etching the coin and manufacturing the coin holder. Two world leading centres collaborating together to mark such a great occasion.
"It was very much a team effort. A few of us came up with the design, we really wanted to celebrate old versus new. The old where we鈥檙e celebrating the Windsor lineage all the way back to 1911 where it started and etching that uses focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy, which is a relatively new and cutting-edge technique so it鈥檚 all about this idea of old meeting new.鈥�
The team at the nmRC have previously etched a message to the late Queen Elizabeth II . The hair was donated from two Corgis living in Nottinghamshire that were from the same bloodline as the Queen’s beloved Corgis.
Story credits
More information is available from Luke Norman, in the Faculty of Science at the 糖心原创 at Luke.Norman2@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
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