Scanning Tunneling Microscope (1986 Nobel Prize Winner) - overview
Physics Accomplishment | 1978
IBM researchers: Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer
Where the work was done: IBM Zurich Research Lab
What we accomplished: Binning and Rohrer invented the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), which provides vastly higher magnification than traditional optical microscopes. Paraphrasing Wikipedia: "STM is an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Thanks to STM, individual atoms within materials are now routinely imaged and manipulated."
Related links: 1986 Nobel Prize Press Release, Wikipedia article on Scanning Tunneling Microscopes.
Image credit: By Royce Hunt M0RHI - ow, CC BY-SA 2.5 A close-up of a simple scanning tunneling microscope head using a platinum–iridium tip.
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