By Peter Weiss
With the help of a molecular mold composed of exactly 188 atoms, researchers have been able to impose textures at an even smaller atomic scale on a metal surface.
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The structures created–strips of copper exactly two atoms wide by seven long–will probably not prove of practical value. However, the accomplishment could lead to other molecular tools that yield more desirable products, says Federico Rosei of the University of Aarhus in Denmark.