( CNN ) -- Most flowers start as seeds planted in soil , but Wim Noorduin , currently a post-doc researcher at Harvard , prefers to craft bouquets using Barium carbonate and sodium metasilicate . The two chemicals are disolved in a glass beaker filled with water and as carbon dioxide seeps into the vessel it kickstarts a chemical reaction that creates a wonderland of micro-sculptures that are about the diameter of the human hair . After giving the chemical reaction a few hours to bloom , Noorduin slides the sample into an electron microscope where hundreds of thousands of flower-shaped sculptures have blossomed . `` When zooming in using an electron microscope , you see that inside the beaker a vast landscape of complex sculpted microstructures has evolved in which you can get completely lost , '' says Noordin . `` It really feels like you are diving in a sort of alien coral reef . '' Fascinating ways people try to leave their mark on the world . Sculpting might be too strong a word , but Noorduin has become increasingly adept at controlling the outcome of his experiments by carefully manipulating variables . Altering the temperature of the beaker by submerging it in an ice bath , adding drops of acid to control the pH , or even adding a pinch of table salt can lead to vastly different results . Increasing carbon dioxide levels leads to expansive , leafy crystals while changing the pH level results in rosette structures . Beyond being the kind of gift that would set Amy Farrah Fowler 's heart afire , Noorduin 's nano-sized nosegays have serious applications in materials science research . Microfabrication techniques that build objects at impossible small scale have seen tremendous gains over the last decade , but researchers are bumping up against limits at molecular and nanoscales . Noorduin believes this low-tech , biology-based growth approach could ultimately lead to breakthroughs in optical materials and other applications . For those interested in the science behind Noorduin 's BoutonniÃ¨res , his research has been published in prestigious journals , though his most important peer-review comes from his lady friend . `` Over the years my girlfriend has indeed received many pictures of the flowers , '' he says . `` I took thousands of pictures and would send the best ones to her . '' Read more : What exactly is in McDonald 's famous French fries ? Read more : People around the world pose with everything they eat in a day . Read more : Why you always seem to choose the slowest line . Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT ! Click here ! Copyright 2011 Wired.com .
Wim ##p creates tiny sculptures through a chemical process . He carefully uses variables to control the sculptures which look like flowers . He 's nano - organic sculptures also have serious applications in materials science research .