Two atom reaction smallest chemistry experiment ever performed

By David Bradley2018-04-12T19:00:00

An image illustrating how optical tweezers would hold an atom

Source: © Shutterstock

Exquisite manipulation of a single sodium and caesium atom could herald start of an era of total control over chemistry

Chemical reactions are carried out at all scales: from microreactor to laboratory flask to industrial tank. US researchers have now taken things to one extreme, scaling a reaction down as small as it can go. They used optical tweezers to hold an individual atom of sodium and one of caesium, and brought them together to form a new molecule, an alloy of those two metals.