Drum beats from a one atom thick graphite membrane

Researchers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, have demonstrated the ability to manipulate the vibrations of a drum of nanometre scale thickness - realizing the world's smallest and most versatile drum. This work has implications in improving the sensitivity of small detectors of mass - very important in detecting the mass of small molecules like viruses. This also opens the doors to probing exciting new aspects of fundamental physics.