How Gold Nanoparticles Slim Down on a Hot Surface
Drop tiny gold spheres onto a scorching skillet: each smaller than a hundredth of a hair's width. Under an electron microscope, you can watch them slowly evaporate. It seems simple: each sphere should shrink evenly, like an ice cube in warm water. But instead of a steady shrinkage, the particles behave like drunk pedestrians: one step forward, two to the side.