By Peter Weiss
Crafting tiny circuits and machines from fewer and fewer atoms, researchers are pushing technology deep into the realm of quantum mechanics. More than a decade ago, physicists discovered unexpected quantum behavior in electronic devices. Now, California experimenters have observed a quantum effect in mechanical characteristics of tiny structures as well.
“It’s the first experiment in which people clearly see quantum mechanics in mechanical structures,” comments Leo P. Kouwenhoven of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Back in 1988, he and his coworkers made the surprising discovery that electrical resistance in certain devices would appear only in multiples of a basic amount, or quantum.