Scientists Are Using AI to Painstakingly Assemble Single Atoms

Published: May 23, 2018, 4:31 p.m.

b'Forget ruby-encrusted swords or diamond-tipped chainsaws. The scanning probe microscope is, quite literally, the sharpest object ever made. Hidden under its bulky silver exterior is a thin metal wire, as fine as a human hair. And at one end, its point tapers to the width of a single atom. Scientists wield the wire not as a weapon, but as an intricate paintbrush\\u2014using its needlelike tip to position single atoms on a tiny semiconductor canvas.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices'