First X-ray of a single atom

Researchers had never before taken an X-ray of a single atom because the X-ray signal was too weak to detect with conventional methods. But in partnership with Ohio University and the Argonne National Laboratory, a single atom has been X-rayed for the first time.

Researchers claim this discovery will change the world

For the first time, researchers have imaged a single atom using X-rays, according to the study published in the journal Nature. Prior to the research team’s invention, X-ray imaging techniques could only target groups of about 10,000 atoms or more. The reason for this limit was that the X-ray signal emitted by a single atom was too weak to be detected by conventional methods. To overcome this, the researchers used a technique called synchrotron X-ray scanning tunneling microscopy, or SX-STM.

The SX-STM combines X-ray imaging with a specialized microscope that can image atomic surfaces using an extremely thin conductive tip that tunnels electrons excited by X-rays. The team describes these emerging electrons as fundamental fingerprints that can identify exactly which atom they’re dealing with.

“Atoms can routinely be imaged with scanning probe microscopes, but without X-rays, no one can tell why they are made. We can now precisely detect a particular type of atom, one atom at a time, and simultaneously measure its chemical state,” said physicist Sai Wai Hla, one of the researchers, in a press release. ” said.

For their latest finding, the team used SX-STM to image an iron atom and a terbium atom in a molecular host and were able to detect the individual chemical states of both, Hla explains.

In the future, this experiment could allow scientists to more precisely manipulate atoms in host molecules. “This discovery will change the world,” Hla continued. made statements.