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IBM Makes a Movie Out of Atoms

harrymcc writes "IBM's Almaden Research Center has a scanning tunneling microscope, a device invented by the company. It uses it to move individual atoms around — mostly for storage research. But it's created a 242-frame cartoon, A Boy and His Atom, using individual atoms as pixels. Guinness has certified it as the world's smallest movie." 242 frames, and ten 18-hour days of work by multiple people using a very tiny copper needle attached to an expensive machine to move the atoms around.

8 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Wait... it's not porn by selectspec · · Score: 5, Funny

    What a waste of time.

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  2. Re:But... by SJHillman · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't know... it's usually all photons and sound waves by the time it gets to me.

  3. The plot by Virtex · · Score: 5, Funny

    A sodium atom and a potassium atom are walking down the street when suddenly the sodium atom stops with a concerned look. "I just lost an electron" he said. "Are you sure?" asked the potassium atom. The sodium atom replied with, "Yeah, I'm positive."

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    1. Re:The plot by JustOK · · Score: 4, Funny

      A tachyon walks out of a bar.
      The bar tender says "We don't serve your kind here"
      A tachyon walks in to a bar.

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      rewriting history since 2109
  4. Quantum Sequel by neoshroom · · Score: 3, Funny

    The sequel is being made out of quantum entangled atoms. So, if you and your friend go to see it, one will think it is horrible and the other it is great no-matter how far apart your seats are.

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    Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
  5. Quantum Movie by neoshroom · · Score: 4, Funny

    The problem with the movie is the more you know about its plot, the less sure you are sure about its characters and the more you know about the characters the less you know about what is actually occurring.

    Tragically, because the credits at the end tell you who the characters are, after seeing the movie you won't be able to know anything about what happened in it.

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    Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
  6. And the sequel will be a reboot by theurge14 · · Score: 5, Funny

    A big bang, if you will.

  7. Future Hollywood Titles by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can see it now: coming soon to a cinema near you "A Real Quantum of Solace" and "Ion Man"