IBM and National Geographic Kids hold Guinness World Records title for smallest printed magazine cover

IBM and National Geographic Kids aim to show the power of nanotechnology with the latest Guinness World Records title it garnered. The publication and tech company combined forces to print the world's smallest magazine cover at 11 x 14 micrometers. It is so miniscule that a grain of salt can hold 2,000 cover images. IBM scientists created a tiny "chisel" with a heatable silicon tip that is 100,000 times smaller than a sharpened pencil point. The scientists printed the March 2014 cover (which was voted online by National Geographic Kids' readers) in under 10 minutes onto a polymer.

IBM wanted to demonstrate how this new capability may impact prototyping of new transistor devices, which will help create more energy-efficient and faster electronics for different devices. It can even be used to create nano-sized security tags to help prevent document forgery for items such as passports, currency, and even priceless works of art.