DELFT, Netherlands, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Dutch researchers have used a high resolution electron microscope to observe, in real-time, the collective transportation of gold atoms in a thin layer.
The scientists at the Delft University of Technology say their study illustrates the rapid progress currently being made by real-time nanomicroscopy.
In the study at the university's Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, a small group of gold atoms was placed on a gold surface. The researchers then used a high resolution electron microscope to show in real-time how the atoms collectively sank into the underlying layer of atoms and then became arranged in the shape of a surface dislocation, which is an extra row of atoms that is "squeezed" between the other rows of atoms.
At a later stage, the dislocation disappears as if a string of beads has been pulled away lengthwise. According to Professor Henny Zandbergen, that is the first time such a phenomenon has been observed in real-time.
The scientists say within 5 years, their research should result in opening a wealth of possibilities for the medical world, as well as industry.
The study appears in the journal Physical Review Letters.
