IBM creates world`s smallest movie using atoms
Baku, May 2 (AZERTAC). Researchers at IBM have created the world`s smallest stop-motion movie using atoms.
The movie titled `A Boy and His Atom` has been made using a scanning tunnelling microscope to move thousands of carbon monoxide molecules repeatedly rearranged to show a boy dancing, throwing a ball and bouncing on a trampoline.
Each frame measures 45 by 25 nanometers — there are 25 million nanometers in an inch — but hugely magnified, the movie is reminiscent of early video games, particularly when the boy bounces the ball off the side of the frame accompanied by simple music and sound effects.
Videos showing atoms in motion have been seen before but Andreas Heinrich, IBM`s principal scientist for the project, said this is the first time anything so small has been maneuvered to tell a story.
"This movie is a fun way to share the atomic-scale world," Heinrich said. "The reason we made this was not to convey a scientific message directly, but to engage with students, to prompt them to ask questions."
IBM used a remotely operated two-ton scanning tunneling microscope at its lab in San Jose, Calif., to make the movie earlier this year. The microscope magnifies the surface over 100 million times. It operates at 450 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (268 degrees below zero Celsius).
The cold "makes life simpler for us," Heinrich said. "The atoms hold still. They would move around on their own at room temperature."
Other news in this section
