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Atoms Receive 'Movie Star' Treatment

Roland Piquepaille writes "A news release from the University of Toronto (U of T) says that a team of chemists has successfully captured images of atoms during the melting of aluminum. "Chemists at the University of Toronto have captured atom-scale images of the melting process-revealing the first images of the transition of a solid into a liquid at the timescale of femtoseconds, or millionths of a billionth of a second. The result is an unprecedented "movie" detailing the melting process as solid aluminum becomes a liquid." Can this be useful for you? Probably not. But these chemists think they have a new valuable tool which will allow them to make atomic movies of other chemical reactions. This summary contains more details and additional references."

3 of 32 comments (clear)

  1. How Long by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Before these movies can be downloaded on Kazaa?

  2. One has to wonder by Zerth · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will the aluminum atoms be cancelling their appearance on Letterman?

    Hope they weren't underage... What is the age of consent for aluminum, anyway?

  3. Oh, there are pictures by Laplace · · Score: 3, Funny

    You just can't see them. They're tiny. The size of atoms.

    --
    The middle mind speaks!