A Boy and His Atom: IBM create the world's smallest video

Scientists at IBM have breathed new life into short films with their world-record-breaking molecular movie titled "A Boy and His Atom".

In a stunning piece of design and innovation, the video consists of individual carbon monoxide molecules repeatedly rearranged to show a boy dancing, throwing a ball and bouncing on a trampoline. Each frame measures just 45 by 25 nanometres.

The 90-second film was created using a handful of carbon atoms moved around a copper surface via electricity. 

"This movie is a fun way to share the atomic-scale world," said Andreas Heinrich, IBM's principal scientist for the project. "The reason we made this was not to convey a scientific message directly, but to engage with students, to prompt them to ask questions.

“As data creation and consumption continue to get bigger, data storage needs to get smaller, all the way down to the atomic level. Even nanophysicists need to have a little fun… In that spirit, the scientists moved atoms by using their scanning tunnelling microscope to make… a movie.”