A CENTURY after Joseph John Thomson discovered the electron, researchers
in his laboratory have found a reliable way to move single electrons.
Michael Pepper and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge鈥檚 Cavendish
Laboratory have found that high-frequency sound waves transmitted through a
gallium arsenide chip can pick up electrons as passengers. By channelling the
sound waves through a narrow gate, the researchers reduce the number of
electrons until they pass through one by one.