Comment Re:Numbers of atoms? (Score 1) 104
"Five atoms is the minimum thickness possible for the silicon dioxide film at the heart of computers" in the original article might actually refer to the number of atoms in the layer, regardless of whether the atoms are silicon or oxygen (of course, oxygen atoms and silicon atoms have different atomic radii).
On the other hand, "Essentially, what Bell Labs is saying that you can't go any smaller then 5 atoms of silicon dioxide at the heart of the machine.", as posted on www.slashdot.org makes no sense, since silicon dioxide is not an atom, but a molecule at the microscopic level (SiO2) and a crystal at the macroscopic level (as stated above).
On the other hand, "Essentially, what Bell Labs is saying that you can't go any smaller then 5 atoms of silicon dioxide at the heart of the machine.", as posted on www.slashdot.org makes no sense, since silicon dioxide is not an atom, but a molecule at the microscopic level (SiO2) and a crystal at the macroscopic level (as stated above).
