For the First Time, Scientists X-Ray a Single Atom
Department of Energy, Office of ScienceFor the first time since X-rays were discovered, researchers have successfully performed X-ray spectroscopy to identify the element of a single atom at a time. The achievement takes advantage of improvements to synchrotron X-ray light sources. Until now, the smallest usable sample was at least 10,000 atoms. Now, by combining synchrotron X-rays and quantum tunneling, the researchers detected the element and chemical state of a single atom of iron and terbium.