Why perform individual atom manipulation?

Nanoscientists at Ohio University have been working with some very small objects!  Atoms to be exact.  Professor Saw-Wai Hla has been using individual atoms to create some interesting images and movies.  To create these images, Dr. Hla and his students use a home-built scanning tunneling microscope (STM).  They use the STM-tip, similar to a needle, to move single atoms one at a time.  To compare the size of the STM-tip to an atom, "it's as if you were to take the Eiffel Tower, and using that as your needle, attempt to move an object the size of one millimeter," said Dr. Hla. 

But do these images serve a bigger purpose than looking cool?  You bet they do!  Individual atom manipulation helps scientists understand interaction between the matters, or how atoms bind to form matters.  Dr. Hla and his students are continuing to study these atomic level interactions, so stay tuned for more updates!