PHYSICS
SCIENTISTS ACCIDENTALLY CREATE THE WORLD’S TIGHTEST, SMALLEST KNOT
WORDS KILEY PRICE
Scientists recently tied the smallest, tightest knot ever recorded, with just 54 atoms. The microscopic twist is in the form of a trefoil, the simplest type of nontrivial knot, with three interlaced crossings and no loose ends. The newly formed ‘metallaknot’ contains gold and even assembles itself. Scientists discovered this unintentionally. The researchers were originally trying to connect carbon structures to gold acetylides, a class of chemical compounds. During this process, one of the reactions yielded a golden chain that tied itself into a tangle resembling a three-leaf clover.