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Micrograph of a gold bridge used to stretch a molecule and measure electricity flowing through it.
A scanning electron micrograph of a gold bridge suspended 40 nanometers above a silicon substrate. In the experiment, the bridge is severed in the middle, a single high-spin molecule is suspended across the gap, and the substrate is bent to stretch the molecule while simultaneously measuring the electron current through the molecule.
Credit: Joshua Parks, Cornell University
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Related story: Stretching Molecules Yields New Understanding of Electricity