In IBM Research created a cartoon using separate molecules

Nowadays technologies have already passed to such a stage when, using any thing, you don’t even think how difficult this thing can be. It is unlikely that the same average teenager with the latest model smartphone understands how many scientific advances, technological breakthroughs were made, before the creation of such a device became possible. But even the complexity of the smartphone can not be compared with the complexity of managing individual atoms / molecules. But IBM removed a whole cartoon, moving molecules (carbon monoxide) in the right places. The result is a captured video called the Boy and His Atom (A Boy and His Atom).

Each point in the cartoon is a molecule of carbon monoxide, CO. This compound is also called "carbon monoxide". CO molecules are located on the surface of copper. To increase the use of a tunnel electron microscope. As part of the work done, IBM created 242 separate frames, which were then converted into this video. All objects, according to the creators of the cartoon, have been increased 100 million times.
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4 people participated in the work, everything was spent about 10 days. In this case, there was no automation, everything was done manually. As far as can be understood, this is not only a technically complex, but also a very laborious process. But everything went smoothly, and now we can all appreciate the resulting “molecular cartoon”. I personally was pleasantly struck by the attention of the authors to the details. For example, when a boy jumps, even a curl on his bangs twitches, pay attention.

Here is the video itself:



But the video of the process of working on a cartoon:



The creators of the video say they made the video for a reason. Scientists and technicians who worked on the creation of the video, thus hoping to attract the attention of ordinary people to scientific achievements. So, instead of writing complex technical texts, publishing books or placing texts on the site, IBM “just” played with molecules.

Via DVICE