Formation, Manipulation, and Elasticity Measurement of a Nanometric   Column of Water Molecules
  Nanometer-sized columns of condensed water molecules are created by an atomic-resolution force microscope operated in ambient conditions. Unusual stepwise decrease of the force gradient associated with the thin water bridge in the tip-substrate gap is observed during its stretch, exhibiting regularity in step heights (~0.5 N/m) and plateau lengths (~1 nm). Such "quantized" elasticity is indicative of the atomic-scale stick-slip at the tip-water interface. A thermodynamic-instability-induced rupture of the water meniscus (5-nm long and 2.6-nm wide) is also found. This work opens a high-resolution study of the structure and the interface dynamics of a nanometric aqueous column. 
H. Choe (1 and 2), M.-H. Hong (1 and 2), Y. Seo (2), K. Lee (1), G.   Kim (1), Y. Cho (1), J. Ihm (1)and W. Jhe (1 and 2) ((...