Scientists have created the smallest and tightest knot of 54 atoms. It happened by accident

Scientists accidentally tied the smallest and tightest knot in the world in a tiny structure made up of just 54 atoms.

Researchers were conducting chemical reactions to create small gold chains. However, one reaction did not go as planned, resulting in a chain that spontaneously tied itself into a trefoil knot. This knot resembles a pretzel, except that the free ends are connected together.

Upon closer examination, it was found that this unintentional knot actually set two world records. Because it contained only 54 atoms, it is the smallest knot in history. Thus, it surpassed the previous record holder of 69 atoms, created in 2020.

Furthermore, this new knot was also the tightest ever tied. This parameter is measured as the crossing number of the knot (BCR), where smaller numbers indicate tighter knots. The new knot achieved a BCR of 23, just one less than the previous tightest knot with a BCR of 24.

It is worth noting that knots have their own branch of mathematics called knot theory. Studying them can help us explain things like why the Universe is three-dimensional, or more practically, how DNA and proteins naturally knot themselves. In the latter case, scientists could learn to produce higher quality drugs, chemicals, and materials.

Currently, researchers believe that using the same structure, even smaller knots consisting of just 49 atoms can be created.

Source: newatlas