A shout out to Slapinions Dan who posted this originally "Finally, using an Atomic Force Microscope,
researchers at IBM have taken the first ever photograph of a single molecule. The carbon rings and the positions of the hydrogen atoms in the molecule can clearly be seen. It may look like a piece of honeycomb, but this lattice-shaped image is the first ever close-up view of a single molecule.
"Scientists from IBM used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to reveal the chemical bonds within a molecule.
The experiment was also performed inside a high vacuum at the extremely cold temperature of -268C to avoid stray gas molecules or atomic vibrations from affecting the measurements.
I get the feeling there will not be any practical applications for a while :o)
Not that there will be any apps for this, but I do think that it is another step closer to solving the riddle of what we call life. Now that we can see what a single molecule is, we can find out how it does what it does, what makes it 'tick'.
ReplyDeleteYou never know what practical applications something like this might have. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Beth, you never know what could come of this. I recently heard scientists have been able to create "artificial" life out of bacteria.
ReplyDeleteMay be old news to a science person like you but I found it very interesting.