Why have we not (yet) succeeded in seeing atoms? Even with the more recently developed scanning tunneling microscope and the atomic force microscope, you can only see atoms with the help of electrons and a computer (image model).
So have atoms already been observed what they look like in reality? Another question: what is the center of the universe?
Answer
If by ‘seeing atoms’ you mean ‘seeing optically’, there is a fundamental reason for that. The quality of an optical instrument (e.g. a microscope) strongly depends on the quality of the lenses. But even if you spend a lot of money on your lenses, the smallest object you can see depends on the wavelength of the light used. For that reason, a Blu-ray, which uses blue light, can write/read the information closer together than a DVD, which uses red light). An atom is simply too small to be able to view it in detail with visible light.
We only have ‘indirect’ methods for determining how atoms are put together: how do they react to light?, what happens when they fall apart? The answers to such questions provide us with a little more insight into their structure.
Answered by
Prof Walter Lauriks
Physics Acoustics
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
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