Dutch scientists used lasers and a powerful microscope to take pictures of inside an atom. This breakthrough could kickstart the development of quantum electronics systems. For those wondering why it took so long, these “kind of images have never before been taken because all previous experiments have destroyed the particles they are attempting to capture.” Continue reading for a video and more information.
Scientists in Amsterdam were able to see the contents of the atom by using a special lens that magnifies images up to 20,000 times, creating a ‘quantum microscope’. The experiment has pushed the limits of what quantum physicists thought possible, and could help researchers design ultra fast electronics systems in the future.
Instead of having the ability to describe where a particle is, quantum theory provides a description of its whereabouts called a wave function, which is a mathematical way of describing how they behave in both space and time.
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