We have developed a sensor to study the mechanical stiffness of atomic-size contacts. It consists of a modification of the mechanically controllable break-junction technique, using a quartz tuning fork resonator as force sensor. We present first results of measurements of the force constants in gold atomic contacts. In the formation of chains of single-metal atoms, the folding in of individual atoms from the banks into the chain can be observed. This sensor allows one to measure forces in atomic contacts for a wide variety of metals, as illustrated with the first measurements on platinum.
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