Feast your eyes on the first ever photo of a single atom hovering in thin air
If you paid attention in science class you know that atoms make up everything. They're the smallest unit of matter, and everything you've ever touched, felt, or breathed is made up of matter, include your own body. They're so small, in fact, that actually seeing an individual atom is pretty much impossible without the use of high-powered microscopes.
From article, (If you paid attention in science class you know that atoms make up everything. They’re the smallest unit of matter, and everything you’ve ever touched, felt, or breathed is made up of matter, include your own body. They’re so small, in fact, that actually seeing an individual atom is pretty much impossible without the use of high-powered microscopes. I say “pretty much,” because there is apparently an exception to that rule, and a truly remarkable photo showing a single atom captured in space has been awarded a first place prize in the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s annual photography competition.
In the photo, a single atom of strontium is held almost perfectly still by an electrical field generated by a pair of electrodes. A laser excites and illuminates the atom, which shines like a tiny speck of dust caught in the glare of the sun. Still, you probably have to squint to see it.
“The idea of being able to see a single atom with the naked eye had struck me as a wonderfully direct and visceral bridge between the minuscule quantum world and our macroscopic reality,” the photographer, David Nadlinger, explains. “A back-of-the-envelope calculation showed the numbers to be on my side, and when I set off to the lab with camera and tripods one quiet Sunday afternoon, I was rewarded with this particular picture of a small, pale blue dot.”)
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