Researchers Holding Steady in an Atomic-Scale Tug-of-War

(PhysOrg.com) -- How hard do you have to pull on a single atom of -- let's say -- gold to detach it from the end of a chain of like atoms?* It's a measure of the astonishing progress in nanotechnology that questions that once would have interested only physicists or chemists are now being asked by engineers. To help with the answers, a research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology has built an ultra-stable instrument for tugging on chains of atoms, an instrument that can maneuver and hold the position of an atomic probe to within 5 picometers.**

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