Electrons take turns like pedestrians

[neuraxon77]

When electrons are put onto liquid helium, they skate like air-hockey pucks above the surface.

In the past decade or so, researchers have learned to precisely control electrons above a thin layer of liquid helium that adheres by surface tension to tiny grooves on a solid wafer. Extending these techniques to smaller dimensions, Rees and his colleagues forced the electrons through a micron-wide constriction, comparable in size to the spacing between the electrons. The electric field there generated a saddle-shaped hill that was too high for electrons to cross.

Increasing the voltage on an electrode lowered the barrier enough for electrons to pass through in single file, and the current suddenly appeared. Rees was surprised to see that further increases in the voltage produced additional sharp jumps in the current. These jumps occurred, the team later realized, because lowering the entire ridge created a wider opening for the electrons, so they could pass through two-abreast, then three-abreast, and so on.

Electrons take turns like pedestrians

I hate to think how hard ES peeps are pushing those little electrons through their own DIY constrictions.