All machines convert one form of energy into another form—for example, a car engine turns the energy stored in fuel into kinetic energy. Those processes of energy conversion, described by thermodynamics, don’t only take place on the macro-level of big machines, but also at the micro-level of molecular machines that drive muscles or metabolic processes and even on the atomic level. The research team of Prof. Massimiliano Esposito of the University of Luxembourg studies the thermodynamics of small nanomachines consisting of only a few atoms. In a paper published in Physical Review X, they outline how these small machines behave in concert. Their insights could be used to improve the energy efficiency of all kinds of machines, big or small.