IBM Manipulates Atoms to Create the 'World's Smallest Movie'


A Boy and His Atom would be just like any number of unremarkable animated shorts were it not for the fact that it's only visible if you use a microscope that enlarges the action by 100 million times. Using techniques it honed after years of researching atomic data storage, IBM created 250 stop-motion frames depicting a boy playing with his (pet? toy?) atom.

How exactly does one manipulate atoms in this way? It's not cheap: IBM needed to use its two-ton scanning-tunnelling microscope, which operates at minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit, to shoot the film. The microscope moved a "super-sharp" needle to within 1 nanometer of a copper surface, which then could attract and physically move each atom, one by one.

In addition to the short film, IBM also created some exclusive atomic imagery for the upcoming film Star Trek: Into Darkness. You can see the nanoscale images of the Star Trek logo, Starship Enterprise and Vulcan salute via the movie's app, or the gallery below.

IBM developed the atomic-manipulation technique partly in pursuit of more efficient storage technologies. The ability to store data on individual atoms could one day lead to extreme storage solutions, potentially storing all the movies ever made on an object the size of a fingernail, IBM says.

That, and perhaps a sequel to IBM's infinitesimal movie. What should the next atomic film feature? Share your suggestions in the comments.