The miniaturization of electrical components has come to the end of the road. A single transistor on Samsung's latest microchips measures only 4 nanometers, well the same size as the width of a DNA helix or about 40 hydrogen atoms in a row. On these long-scale scales, quantum mechanics has long since taken hold with Planck's constant and fluid currents turned into electrons that quantum tunnel through energy barriers.
In this lecture, I talk about our efforts to understand the interaction between the magnetic and electrical degrees of electrical freedom of electrons in nanoscopic systems. What is the electrical resistance of a hydrogen atom, and by the way, does Ohm's law still apply? Can we repeat Ørsted's experiment and have an elemental compass needle strike under the influence of tunnelling electrons?
LIMITED EDITION – For the event, ørsted beer "Experimenta" is served for the 200th anniversary. The beer has notes of pepper and has been made in a collaboration between Husbryggeriet JACOBSEN, Carlsberg Laboratory, CarlsbergFondet and The Danish Academy of Sciences.