About This Project

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The last decade has produced a variety of activities in the measurement of small forces, which has become a demand of nanotechnology. At small scales forces can only be detected indirectly using basic physics principles, which are key to nanoscale designs. At the macroscale, there is a device that can precisely recognize minute changes in tensile force – a guitar.

Anyone who has played a guitar knows that small changes in string tension (winding the tuners) produces a recognizable change in the pitch. This change is due to the change in vibrational frequency, and is related to the length and mass of the guitar string.

We want to shrink the scale of this physics to the monoatomistic scale of carbyne and ask: If molecular strings produce can musical notes, how can we hear them?

What is the significance of this project?

This work can have significant impact on the development of nanoscale devices, for detection or signalling. Even the smallest strain detectors are on the scale of hundreds of nanometers – here, we propose using a system that is only a single atom thick!

Moreover, the string itself can carry an electrical signal, has a tunable bandgap, and is relatively stable/stiff/strong in comparison with other materials. A purely 1D material can act as an efficient molecular "wire" and can be easily integrated into existing micro and nanoscale systems.

We will enable such applications by determining the limit states of carbyne, similar to the design constraints of a typical construction material (e.g., ultimate strength, strain, length, etc.).

What are the goals of the project?

The primary goal is to determine the accessible frequency range of carbyne. This will indicate the potential applications. We will use full atomistic molecular dynamics to explore vibrating carbyne chains under a variety of conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, solvent, etc.) to determine reliable working conditions.

We can then use the output of our simulations to produce audible tones and “simulated molecular music”. We can further expand the vibrational frequency range by combining carbyne strings and other molecules to produce molecular “chords” (e.g., any harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously).

Ultimately, we wish to set out the design rules and performance limits for this new “instrument”.