A Crisp View of Molecules

Molecules are more than fuzzy blobs, but that's all scientists have been able to see... until now.

For a couple of decades, scientists have used tiny needles to poke at single atoms and molecules, displaying the results as fuzzy blob-like structures. This is impressive enough - after all, atoms are a fraction of a nanometer wide. (Your fingernails grow about a nanometer per second.)

But now, a simple new technique has allowed them to see a very crisp view of the electrons that make up the molecule. Click here for the Physical Review Focus story that explains it, and shows how much of a difference the technique makes.

(I don't post pictures because I don't want to worry about copyright. The above link is really worth clicking on.)

Science can get amazingly precise.

Extremely simple techniques can make a huge difference.

Chris Phoenix