Researchers Witness and Image Atomic Spin for the First Time
Theoretically speaking, we could exponentially increase computing power and capacity as well as build faster, more efficient electronic devices if we could but harness and manipulate the way in which electrons in individual atoms spin. But until recently, no one had been able to empirically observe this quantum characteristic in action. Now, researchers in Germany have seen atomic spin for the very first time, and captured a few tiny images to prove it. A study published in the journal Nature Technology details how the team, composed of German and American physicists, built a custom microscope with an iron-coated tip to coax cobalt electrons to dance to their lead. By carefully positioning cobalt atoms on a plate of manganese, they were able to change the direction of the electron spin through tunneling microscopy, suggesting that we mere humans indeed can manipulate electrons at the quantum level. That's exciting on a variety of...