  Using remarkably simple experimental techniques it is possible to gently
break a metallic contact and thus form conducting nanowires. During the last
stages of the pulling a neck-shaped wire connects the two electrodes, the
diameter of which is reduced to single atom upon further stretching. For some
metals it is even possible to form a chain of individual atoms in this fashion.
Although the atomic structure of contacts can be quite complicated, as soon as
the weakest point is reduced to just a single atom the complexity is removed.
The properties of the contact are then dominantly determined by the nature of
this atom. This has allowed for quantitative comparison of theory and
experiment for many properties, and atomic contacts have proven to form a rich
test-bed for concepts from mesoscopic physics. Properties investigated include
multiple Andreev reflection, shot noise, conductance quantization, conductance
fluctuations, and dynamical Coulomb blockade. In addition, pronounced quantum
effects show up in the mechanical properties of the contacts, as seen in the
force and cohesion energy of the nanowires. We review this reseach, which has
been performed mainly during the past decade, and we discuss the results in the
context of related developments.
