IBM's Manipulation of Atoms and Data Storage Technology - Peter Zhang
In 2013, IBM produced "the word's smallest movie" by manipulating atoms. Here is the movie they created in this way:
The interesting movie tells a story of a boy meeting an atom. IBM used a scanning tunneling microscope to arrange the carbon monoxide molecules on a copper plate and take a "image" of them frame by frame. These frames are then compiled into the movie we see.
A Scanning Tunneling Microscope
When we see an object, our eyes are feeling the photons emitted or reflected by the atoms such object. Because of this, it is impossible to see something as small as an atom optically. Instead, IBM uses a scanning tunneling microscope, or an STM, to detect the presence of atoms. The microscope does not work by seeing the atom, but rather "touching" or "feeling" it. The STM moves a sharp tiny metal needle, whose tip detects electrical current. An increase in electrical current detected by the tip of the needle indicates an electron, which thus indicates an atom. By moving the tip through the surface, the STM can detect the positions of the atoms on the surface layer.
Moving Atoms Around
IBM not only used the STM to capture images of atoms, but to move them as well. If the tip of the needle is "sticked in" to an atom, the atoms at the tip would form a bond with the target atom, which allows the operator to drag the target atom with the tip, thus moving the target atom.
Temperature Required
The work is done at negative 268 Celsius, an extremely low temperature only 5 degrees higher than absolute zero. The temperature needs to be extremely low so that the atoms do not move.
Significance
While this kind of experiment sounds fun, there are real-life applications related to it. Using similar technology, IBM managed to store 1 bit of data in merely 12 iron atoms in 2012, a breakthrough celebrated in this movie through showing 12 atoms at the beginning. In comparison, 1 million atoms are needed to store 1 bit of data using current technology. If this technology becomes applicable, our digital storage technology would be revolutionized.
Here is IBM showing how this movie is made:
A Scanning Tunneling Microscope
When we see an object, our eyes are feeling the photons emitted or reflected by the atoms such object. Because of this, it is impossible to see something as small as an atom optically. Instead, IBM uses a scanning tunneling microscope, or an STM, to detect the presence of atoms. The microscope does not work by seeing the atom, but rather "touching" or "feeling" it. The STM moves a sharp tiny metal needle, whose tip detects electrical current. An increase in electrical current detected by the tip of the needle indicates an electron, which thus indicates an atom. By moving the tip through the surface, the STM can detect the positions of the atoms on the surface layer.
Tip of a Probe for STM
Moving Atoms Around
IBM not only used the STM to capture images of atoms, but to move them as well. If the tip of the needle is "sticked in" to an atom, the atoms at the tip would form a bond with the target atom, which allows the operator to drag the target atom with the tip, thus moving the target atom.
Temperature Required
The work is done at negative 268 Celsius, an extremely low temperature only 5 degrees higher than absolute zero. The temperature needs to be extremely low so that the atoms do not move.
Significance
While this kind of experiment sounds fun, there are real-life applications related to it. Using similar technology, IBM managed to store 1 bit of data in merely 12 iron atoms in 2012, a breakthrough celebrated in this movie through showing 12 atoms at the beginning. In comparison, 1 million atoms are needed to store 1 bit of data using current technology. If this technology becomes applicable, our digital storage technology would be revolutionized.
Here is IBM showing how this movie is made:
Sources:
IBM Research: A Boy And His Atom
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