[quote]The detailed chemical structure of a single molecule has been imaged for the first time, say researchers.
The physical shape of single carbon nanotubes has been outlined before, using similar techniques - but the new method even shows up chemical bonds.
Understanding structure on this scale could help in the design of many things on the molecular scale, particularly electronics or even drugs.
The IBM researchers report their findings in the journal Science.
It is the same group that in July reported the feat of measuring the charge on a single atom.
Fine tuning
In both cases, a team from IBM Research Zurich used what is known as an atomic force microscope or AFM.
Their version of the device acts like a tiny tuning fork, with one of the prongs of the fork passing incredibly close to the sample and the other farther away.
When the fork is set vibrating, the prong nearest the sample will experience a minuscule shift in the frequency of its vibration, simply because it is getting close to the molecule.
Comparing the frequencies of the two prongs gives a measure of just how close the nearer prong is, effectively mapping out the molecule's structure.
The measurement requires extremes of precision. In order to avoid the effects of stray gas molecules bounding around, or the general atomic-scale jiggling that room-temperature objects experience, the whole setup has to be kept under high vacuum and at blisteringly cold temperatures.
However, the tip of the AFM's prong is not well-defined and isn't necessarily sharp on the scale of single atoms. The effect of this bluntness is to blur the instrument's images.
The researchers have now hit on the idea of deliberately picking up just one small molecule - made of one atom of carbon and one of oxygen - with the AFM tip, forming the sharpest, most well-defined tip possible.
Their measurement of a pentacene molecule using this carbon monoxide tip shows the bonds between the carbon atoms in five linked rings, and even suggests the bonds to the hydrogen atoms at the molecule's periphery.
Tip of the iceberg
Lead author of the research Leo Gross told BBC News that the group is aiming to combine their ability to measure individual charges with the new technique, characterising molecules at a truly unprecedented level of detail.
That will help in particular in the field of "molecular electronics", a potential future for electronics in which individual molecules serve as switches and transistors.
Although the approach can trace out the ethereal bonds that connect atoms, it cannot distinguish between atoms of different types.
The team aims to use the new technique in tandem with a similar one known as scanning tunnelling microscopy - in which a tiny voltage is applied accross the sample - to determine if the two methods in combination can deduce the nature of each atom in the AFM images.
That would help the entire field of chemistry, in particular the synthetic chemistry used for drug design.
The results are of wide interest to others who study the nano-world with similar instruments. For them, implementing the same approach is as simple as picking up one of these carbon monoxide molecules with their AFM before taking a measurement.[/quote]
[img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46278000/jpg/_46278048_pentacene_anatomy.jpg[/img]
[img]http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/08/500x_500_Pentacene_model.jpg[/img]
Now, when someone argues that a scientific theory is just a theory, or simply claming that because you have never been to the sun, you can't understand how the sun works, you can point out to them that scientific theory has actually predicited what a molecule looks like based on our scientific knowledge and understanding.
A fuzzy view of the atomic level... Fascinating, yet also not too much to see. Which both increases and decreases the mystery.
youre kidding right?
you havent seen the other thread?
The top picture just looks like it is a very blurred version of the lower picture.
Left and right end seems to be shiny...the magnetic poles?
[QUOTE=Beafman;17065106]The top picture just looks like it is a very blurred version of the lower picture.[/QUOTE]
Bottom is what scientists predicted, top is what they actually saw (which is blurry due to being so small)
[QUOTE=Canned Induvidual;17065230]Left and right end seems to be shiny...the magnetic poles?[/QUOTE]
Not magnetic. Electric. The molecule has an electric dipole. Molecules themselves can't be magnetic; magnetism is caused by an alignment of domains.
"First picture of a single molecule? Sounds awesome" :downs:
[img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46278000/jpg/_46278048_pentacene_anatomy.jpg[/img]
:saddowns:
[QUOTE=Smirnoff Joe;17065021]A fuzzy view of the atomic level... Fascinating, yet also not too much to see. Which both increases and decreases the mystery.[/QUOTE]
at first :iiam:
but then simply :iia:
But definitely not :ms:
Should've taken a picture of a protein
amazing it even looks like it's meant to.
Much Cooler when IBM made their logo using Atoms
[img]http://www.nanomedicine.com/NMI/Figures/2.25.jpg[/img]
[img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46278000/jpg/_46278048_pentacene_anatomy.jpg[/img]
I honestly cannot think up of a good reason why the hydrogen is illuminated on the two sides. The only rational explanation I can think of is the lipid has a hydrogen bond with another lipid.
They should have done an awesome molecule, not a boring one like pentacene.
Let's get some THC up in here
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-from-tosylate-xtal-3D-balls.png/800px-Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-from-tosylate-xtal-3D-balls.png[/img]
edit:
no wait, they should do Borax
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Borax-unit-cell-3D-balls.png/794px-Borax-unit-cell-3D-balls.png[/img]
mind=blown
Holy shit, if those photos are real, that's incredible.
[QUOTE=Gmod_Fan77;17076127]Holy shit, if those photos are real, that's incredible.[/QUOTE]
It's not an actual "photo". We'll never get a "photo" of a molecule. We'll never be able to "see" it. This just maps it out by measuring the forces, then renders it into a visual depiction. It's still incredible though. It takes all the predictions we've made about molecule structure and actually verifies them in a neat way. We built a theory of molecular structure by observing how atoms and molecules interact with each other, but now we have a way to actually "scan" the molecule and map out the forces of each bond.
[QUOTE=ray243;17065002][img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46278000/jpg/_46278048_pentacene_anatomy.jpg[/img]
[/QUOTE]
If you look closely you can see the real discovery here. Three new isotopes are clearly displayed in the lower right hand corner in the shape of IBM. this is truely a great day for science.
[QUOTE=K2cougar;17076695]If you look closely you can see the real discovery here. Three new isotopes are clearly displayed in the lower right hand corner in the shape of IBM. this is truely a great day for science.[/QUOTE]
Your discovery will make much money.
[QUOTE=Unreliable;17076714]Your discovery will make much money.[/QUOTE]
Not when IBM sues his ass.
[QUOTE=Phyxius;17077071]Not when IBM sues his ass.[/QUOTE]
He can pay off his debt.
A little late on the news, but awesome none the less. :science:
This proves that scientists can make accurate predictions about the world without completely self evident proof.
Awesome.
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