Technology update
Feb 28, 2008
Feeling the force on a single atom
Researchers have long used scanning tunnelling microscopes (STMs) to move single atoms around on the surface of material with atomic-scale precision — allowing them to make nanometre-scale structures such as "quantum corrals", which confine electrons to tiny regions on a surface. However, it has never actually been possible to measure the force required to move an individual atom, something that could improve our understanding of the structural and mechanical properties of materials.
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