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Here Is a Photo of a Single Atom

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2021-07-10 17:00:09

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear.

Atoms are really small. So small, in fact, that it’s impossible to see one with the naked eye, even with the most powerful of microscopes. At least, that used to be true.

Now, a photograph shows a single atom floating in an electric field, and it’s large enough to see without any kind of microscope.

The photo, taken by David Nadlinger and titled Single Atom In An Ion Trap, is the winner of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council science photography competition. The photo depicts a single strontium atom, embedded inside a strong electric field, blasted by lasers which cause it to emit light.

Even though the atom is visible, it’s still not easy to see. If you look very closely at the center of the photo, you’ll see a faint blue dot. That’s the strontium atom, illuminated by a blue-violet laser.