The Mind-Blowing Geometric Design of Diatomaceous Earth
To the naked eye, it’s a plain white powder. But if you zoom in with an electron microscope, a stunning industrial landscape emerges.
My apartment was recently hit by an ant infestation. I put out a bunch of those little plastic bait traps, but they didn’t seem to make any difference, and I was wary of using chemical sprays because I worried they’d be be bad for my cats. I was about to order one of those plant-based pet-safe insecticides when my friend Courtney generously offered to give me some of her diatomaceous earth (dy-uh-tuh-MAY-shus earth).
If you’re a gardener (as Courtney is), you probably know about diatomaceous earth. It’s a type of sedimentary rock that can be crushed into a white powder that looks a lot like flour, as shown in the photo above. Although non-toxic for humans (and cats), it’s lethal to insects. I knew about it being used in outdoor gardens, but I didn’t know it could also be used indoors. Anyway, Courtney had a big bag of the stuff, so she gave me a jar’s worth, and I spooned a bit of it along the baseboards where I’d been seeing ants. By the next day, the ants had vanished — amazing!
After a bit of quick research, I learned that diatomaceous earth is made from fossilized diatoms, which are a type of microscopic algae. The teeny-tiny fossils result in the powder having little abrasive edges, which damage insects’ exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate and die. Interesting!
As I was learning all of this, I came across close-up photos of diatomaceous earth made with scanning electron microscopes. There are lots of these photos floating around the internet, and they’re absolutely mind-blowing. The Wikipedia entry on diatomaceous earth, for example, is accompanied by this shot:
I showed that photo to my neighbor Jason. He said it reminded him of a breakfast cereal, like Chex; I said it reminded me of pasta. I think we were both right.