Superatoms may lead to Smaller, Faster, Powerful Computers

New Delhi, June 29, 2009
The Economic Times

Computers may soon become faster, smaller and more powerful as scientists said they have discovered magnetic superatoms, which can provide a way to design novel nano-scale structures.

A team of researchers, including two from Allahabad-based Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI), have discovered the 'magnetic superatom' -- a stable cluster of atoms that can mimic different elements of the periodic table.

The cluster, consisting of one Vanadium and eight Cesium atoms, acts like a tiny magnet that can mimic a single Manganese atom in magnetic strength while preferentially allowing electrons of specific spin orientation to flow through the surrounding shell of Cesium atoms.

"A combination such as the one we have created can lead to significant developments in the area of molecular electronics, a field where researchers study electric currents through small molecules," the scientists said reporting their findings in British science journal 'Nature'.

The study was conducted by a team under Shiv Khanna, professor of physics at the Virginia Commonwealth University along with collaborators at HRI and Naval Research Laboratory in the US.

Magnetic superatoms may also have potential biomedical applications such as sensing, imaging and drug delivery.