• Question: what would you do if you could see atoms

    Asked by Honey-G on 4 Nov 2024.
    • Photo: Emilia Arguello

      Emilia Arguello answered on 4 Nov 2024:

      On one hand it would be so cool to finally be able to see with our own eyes something that has puzzled humans for decades. But I feel like I would probably also go crazy! Atoms are so so tiny that there are incredibly large numbers of them even in the smallest bits of matter. To see and process so much information all at once would probably make my head hurt!

      If I could see atoms and, for instance, I would be looking at a glass of water, I would be looking at 2.5 x10^25 atoms of oxygen and hydrogen! (this number is more than 1 trillion times larger than the number of stars we have in our entire galaxy!) Imagine seeing all these tiny atoms, so many of them all together, vibrating and interacting with each other in the water… i take it would be so overwhelming! And that’s just assuming you’re just focusing on the liquid. The glass in which the water is contained will also have trillions and quadrillions of atoms. The air you breathe as well!

Comments

  • Photo: Andrew M

    Andrew M commented on :

    In a sense we can “see” atoms using advanced analytical techniques like High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). In HRTEM a beam of electrons is passed through the sample and interacts with it, creating an image. It’s difficult to set up for atomic scale measurements and can’t be used for everything, and has the awkard habit of destroying what it measures, but it is very useful for nano technology resarch and development, when you absolutely need to know where your atoms are going or how they interact with a surface. In STM the probe gently feels the surface, looking for electrons to tunnels through space between the surface and probe tip. STM and related techniques can also be used to move atoms around a surface, allowing scientists to create the world’s smallest artworks.

  • Photo: martinmcmahon

    martinmcmahon commented on :

    We can image atoms with the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM), these are very powerful microscopes that are used in a lot of semi-conductor research.