Quantum Conductance

When a wire becomes narrow enough, the current through that wire becomes observably quantized. In this experiment, you will observe that quantization as a gold nanowire is formed, broken, and re-formed. Measurement of the size of the quantum conductance steps can provide some insight into quantum theory, physical constants, etc.

Equipment built by James Delles, 2012. It works, although students will probably need to make their own wire insert for the apparatus.