Vacuum Vapor Deposition

Intersting quote of relevance to this topic from
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,52356,00.html:

"
Here's an extremely little-known fact. Solar sails played a significant
role in the conceptualization and development of nanotechnology. Back in
the 1970s, a young student at MIT, enamored with space, was trying to
figure out how to develop the minimum thickness for a sail. He came up
with a concept for laying out an ultra-thin layer of aluminum on a wax,
using a technique called vacuum-vapor deposition, in which the metal would
be heated to a vapor, and sprayed on a substrate in a vacuum chamber.

Afterwards, the wax would be melted away, leaving the thin aluminum foil.
He reasoned that he could get a sail that was only a few atoms
thick--strong and reflective enough to be a good sail (as long as it was
handled properly) while providing maximum performance.

"

Ron