Visualizing the 'invisible'

Moriarty, Philip

Abstract

The ability of scientists to image and manipulate matter at the (sub)atomic scale is a result of stunning advances in microscopy. Foremost amongst these was the invention of the scanning probe microscope, which, despite its classification as a microscope, does not rely on optics to generate images. Instead, images are produced via the interaction of an atomically sharp probe with a surface. Here the author considers to what extent those images represent an accurate picture of ‘reality’ at a size regime where quantum physics holds sway, and where the image data can be acquired and manipulated in a variety of ways.

Citation

Moriarty, P. (2015). Visualizing the 'invisible'. Leonardo, 48(1), https://doi.org/10.1162/LEON_a_00897

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Feb 15, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 15, 2016
• Journal: Leanardo
• Print ISSN: 0024-094X
• Electronic ISSN: 1530-9282
• Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/LEON_a_00897
• Keywords: scientific visualization; scanning probe microscopy; imaging atoms; molecules; quantum physics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/985153
• Publisher URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/LEON_a_00897#.VsHcH_mLRph
• Related Public URLs: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/leon
• Additional Information: Copyright MIT Press.; Published in Leonardo, February 2015, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 64-65