Sunday 30 August 2009

Single Molecule's Stunning Image


The detailed chemical structure of a single molecule has been imaged for the first time. The physical shape of single carbon nanotubes has been outlined before, using similar techniques - but the new method even shows up chemical bonds.

Understanding structure on this scale could help in the design of many things on the molecular scale, particularly electronics or even drugs. A team from IBM Research Zurich in Switzerland used what is known as an atomic force microscope to capture the image.

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