Scientists make world's smallest movie

Published May 01, 2013

LiveScience

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  The same powerful tool used to make "A Boy and His Atom" is also used to help scientists understand atomic properties for memory, data storage and future technologies for big data.Courtesy: IBM

An ensemble cast of carbon atoms stars in the world's smallest stop-motion movie created by researchers at IBM.

The video "A Boy and His Atom" features thousands of atoms that have been carefully arranged into nearly 250 frames with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), a Nobel Prize-winning tool invented by scientists at IBM three decades ago. The tool first allowed scientists to visualize single atoms.

"It weighs two tons, operates at a temperature of negative 268 degrees Celsius [minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit] and magnifies the atomic surface over 100 million times," Christopher Lutz, an IBM research scientist, said of the machine.

To position the atoms, the team used the microscope to drag a super-sharp needle along a copper surface. This needle, positioned just a nanometer away from the surface, attracted the atoms and pulled them into place so that the scientists could take still images for each movie frame. The film shows a boy playing with a single atom, dancing and jumping on a trampoline. It was verified as the world's smallest stop-motion movie by Guinness World Records.

The moviemakers say there's more to their work than mere novelty. Atoms are the smallest raw materials for data storage devices, and the same researchers who made the stop-motion film also made the world's smallest magnetic bit using just 12 atoms, according to IBM. That's astoundingly small considering a bit of data on the average computer or electronic device today is made up of roughly 1 million atoms. A chip the size of a fingernail using the researchers' 12-atom bits would be able to store all of the movies ever made, IBM researchers say.

"As data creation and consumption continue to get bigger, data storage needs to get smaller, all the way down to the atomic level," IBM researcher Andreas Heinrich said. "We're applying the same techniques used to come up with new computing architectures and alternative ways to store data to making this movie."

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Rebel Wilson outfit, Aubrey Plaza stage rush the talk of MTV Movie Awards

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  April 14, 2013: Host Rebel Wilson and the cast of "Pitch Perfect" perform onstage at the MTV Movie Awards in Sony Pictures Studio Lot in Culver City, Calif. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision /AP)AP/Invision

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  April 14, 2013: Actress Selena Gomez arrives at the MTV Movie Awards in Sony Pictures Studio Lot in Culver City, Calif. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision for MTV)AP/Invision

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  April 12, 2013: Photo provided by MTV, Selena Gomez poses before rehearsing for the MTV Movie Awards, in Burbank, Calif.AP/MTV

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LOS ANGELES –  With a cast of superheroes and villains, "The Avengers" beat out its competitors to become the big winner at the MTV Movie Awards.

The action romp won three awards Sunday, including the top prize, movie of the year.

"What's the opposite of humbled? We're Biebered to be standing here," said "Avengers" writer-director Joss Whedon as he accepted the final golden popcorn trophy. "This is the award that means the most to me. I am so grateful and very excited for 2015; we're going to bring you `Avengers 2."'

"The Avengers" also won best fight and best villain for actor Tom Hiddleston.

Bradley Cooper and show host Rebel Wilson were each double winners at the ceremony at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif. Cooper won the first prize of the night for his performance in "Silver Linings Playbook" and returned to the stage to accept best kiss honors for his smooch with co-star Jennifer Lawrence in that film.

Lawrence, who won the Oscar for her role in "Playbook," was also a double winner, though she wasn't on hand Sunday. In addition to the kiss award, she won the golden popcorn for her performance, but the prize wasn't presented on camera.

Wilson, who opened and closed the show wearing Iron Man-style armor, won breakthrough performance for her work in "Pitch Perfect" and shared in the film's award for best musical moment. Its stars, including Brittany Snow and Skylar Astin, opened the show with a mash-up medley.

Other musical acts were Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Selena Gomez, who debuted her new song, "Come and Get It," with a Bollywood-inspired performance.

The MTV Movie Awards are as much about the anticipated movies of the upcoming summer season as they are about the finest films of last year. Fans vote online for the winners in traditional and irreverent categories such as best fight, best kiss and best shirtless performance.

"Twilight" heartthrob Taylor Lautner won the shirtless award.

The show also included new footage from next month's "Iron Man 3" and the world premiere of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" trailer, introduced by one of its stars, Liam Hemsworth.

Stars from other summer films-- including Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto from the "Star Trek" sequel and Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez from the "Fast & Furious" franchise -- appeared as presenters during the ceremony.

Other presenters included Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Snoop Dogg/Lion and Kim Kardashian.

Hollywood has increasingly used the fan-driven MTV Movie Awards as a platform to promote its summer product. This year, the show was moved up from June to April to incorporate the entire blockbuster season, which begins in early May.

Honorees and presenters represent upcoming movies, and the ceremony is typically peppered with commercials for forthcoming films and DVD releases.

Emma Watson, a star of this summer's "The Bling Ring," received the Trailblazer Award.

Will Ferrell wore a three-piece suit covered in dollar bills to accept the Comedic Genius Award from "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage.

"For those of you sitting here tonight who don't think I'm funny, I'll be happy to fight you in the parking lot after the show," said Ferrell, who is currently at work on "Anchorman 2," slated for release later this year.

Jamie Foxx was a double winner, too. He shared the best WTF moment award with Samuel L. Jackson for their scenes together in "Django Unchained," and later thanked his daughter, parents and siblings in the audience as he accepted the Generation Award for his career in film.

Foxx stars in June's "White House Down."

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Flight diverted after family raises concerns over PG-13 inflight movie

A family's criticism of inflight entertainment allegedly prompted a United flight to be diverted over "security concerns."

In a story published in The Atlantic, one family recounts traveling from Denver to Baltimore with two young sons, ages 4 and 8. During the flight, the PG-13-rated detective film "Alex Cross" was shown on drop-down monitors across the plane.

The family worried about their young children seeing inappropriate content in the film.

"Alarmed by the opening scenes, we asked two flight attendants if they could turn off the monitor; both claimed it was not possible," the family said, according to The Atlantic.

After some back and forth between the family and the flight crew, the family reportedly relented to the movie being shown and did their best to engage their children to keep them from watching the movie.

"We asked if the captain has the authority to address this issue, but received no response," the family said. "Throughout these interactions the atmosphere was collegial, no voices were raised and no threats, implicit or explicit, of any kind were made. The flight continued without incident, while my wife and I engaged our children to divert their attention from the horrific scenes on the movie screens."

But shortly after that, the captain announced the flight was being diverted to a Chicago airport due to "security concerns." 

When the family disembarked, they were questioned by law enforcement officials then booked on a new flight.

"United flight 638 from Denver to Baltimore diverted to Chicago O'Hare after the crew reported a disturbance involving a passenger," United Airlines told FoxNews.com. "The flight landed without incident and the customers were removed from the aircraft. We reaccommodated the customers on the next flight to Baltimore and have since conducted a full review of our inflight entertainment."

The family argues the captain overreacted to the incident.

"We understand that airline captains can and should have complete authority," the family said. "However, when this authority is used for senseless, vindictive acts, it must be addressed."

The family also contends that United should reassess the movies they screen to ensure they are appropriate for all audiences. 

"Had this been in a cinema or a restaurant, we would have simply left if the content were too violent," the family said. "Cruising at 30,000 feet, leaving was not an option.

Click for more from The Atlantic.

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