RENEWED Australian Research Council (ARC) support for a Murdoch University Physics project will bring researchers a step closer to nanotechnology - making machines small enough to have single atoms as parts.

This has been a fundamental goal in physics research, and is one of the sticking points for producing faster, more efficient technologies.

“The speed of computers is determined by the time it takes for electrons to move down wires, so to speed up the process we need to shorten the travelling distance,” said Associate Professor Stelbovics.

“Ultimately, if we can predict behaviour of electrons moving between single atoms we can build faster, more efficient devices such as quantum computers and machines small enough to travel through the bloodstream.”

Associate Professor Andris Stelbovics is examining the behaviour of atoms colliding with one another in an attempt to make better predictions.

“We have understood the process of two atomic particles hitting one another for nearly eighty years, but predicting the behaviour of three or more atoms simultaneously interacting is still largely unknown,” he said.

“In natural and therefore complex systems, stable atoms can ionise or smash into charged parts when they collide with one another. Our research will help us understand the reasons why certain atoms collide into others and why this causes the release of energy in a particular way.”

Associate Professor Stelbovics has received an ARC Large Grant of $177,000 over three years for this project and his researcher Dr Stephen Jones has been awarded an Australian Post-doctoral Research Fellowship.