The real-time clips, described March 30 inbefore clicking into place in crystalline structures.
Atoms that make up familiar crystals such as salt, sugar and quartz are hard to image in action. So the team turned to gold nanoparticles, each about 60 billionths of a meter across, or roughly one-thousandth the diameter of a typical human hair. The researchers used transmission electron microscopy to track the particles as they snapped into position after floating in a salty fluid.
Gold nanocubes, each about 60 billionths of a meter on a side, come together to form a growing crystal in a salty fluid. Yellow dots highlight the newest additions to the crystal as the nanocubes attach.
Is it physically possible to have eyes that could see atoms naturally?
Science is beautiful