2025-02-05

[public] 4.90M views, 227K likes, dislikes audio only

Veritasium

Here’s what happens when you just keep zooming in. Use code veritasium at https://incogni.com/veritasium to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.

A big thank you to Magnus Garbrecht from the University of Sydney for showing us around the lab and for his feedback on the script.

Special thanks to Quentin Ramasse for his expertise on the video.

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0:00 Why is it hard to see atoms?

2:12 How does an electron microscope work?

4:09 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)

5:11 Spherical Aberration

8:55 Field Ion Microscope

11:05 Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM)

13:24 Probe microscopes

14:02 An unlikely solution

18:08 Seeing atoms

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Adam Foreman, Albert Wenger, Alexander Tamas, Anton Ragin, Autodidactic Studios, Bertrand Serlet, Blake Byers, Bruce, Dave Kircher, David Johnston, Evgeny Skvortsov, Garrett Mueller, Gnare, gpoly, Greg Scopel, Juan Benet, Keith England, KeyWestr, Kyi, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Matthias Wrobel, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, Sam Lutfi, Tj Steyn, TTST, Ubiquity Ventures, and wolfee

If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically - https://ve42.co/SnatomsV

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References:

Busch, H. (1926). Berechnung der Bahn von Kathodenstrahlen im axialsymmetrischen elektromagnetischen Felde. Annalen Der Physik - https://ve42.co/Busch1926

Ruska, E. (1986). The development of the electron microscope and of electron microscopy. Nobel Lecture - https://ve42.co/Ruska1986

Scherzer, O. (1936) - https://ve42.co/Scherzer1936

Jensen, G. (2015). Part 1: EM Lenses. Caltech - https://ve42.co/Jensen2015

Field Ion Microscope via Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/FieldIon

Transmission Electron Microscope via Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/MicroscopeTEM

Albert V. Crewe biography via UChicagoNews Microscopy Society of America - https://ve42.co/CreweBio

McMullan, D. (1993). Scanning Electron Microscopy 1928 - 1965. Microscopy Society of America, Cincinnati - https://ve42.co/McMullan1993

Electric and Magnetic Field Lenses via MIT - https://ve42.co/LensesMIT

Haider, M. et al. (1998). Towards 0.1 nm resolution with the first spherically corrected transmission electron microscope. Journal of Electron Microscopy - https://ve42.co/Haider1998_1

Haider, M. et al. (1998). Electron microscopy image enhanced. Nature - https://ve42.co/Haider1998_2

Krivanek, O. et al. (2022). Aberration correction in the STEM. CRC Press EBooks - https://ve42.co/Krivanek2022

Crewe, A. V., et al. (1970). Visibility of Single Atoms. Science - https://ve42.co/Crewe1970

Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies via the BBC - https://ve42.co/AtomsBBC

Pennycook, S. J. (2012). Seeing the atoms more clearly: STEM imaging from the Crewe era to today. Ultramicroscopy - https://ve42.co/Pennycook2012

Rose, H. H. (2009). Historical aspects of aberration correction. Journal of Electron Microscopy - https://ve42.co/Rose2009

Kavli Prize in Nanoscience via kavliprize.org - https://ve42.co/Kavli2020

Vogt, T. (2019) Aberration-Corrected Electron Microscopy - https://ve42.co/Vogt2019

Images & Video:

Available here - https://ve42.co/AtomsVisuals

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Directed by Gregor Čavlović, Derek Muller, and Tim Usborne

Written by Gregor Čavlović, Tim Usborne, Emily Zhang, and Casper Mebius

Edited by Trenton Oliver and Charlie Grayley

Animated by Mike Radjabov, Fabio Albertelli, Ivy Tello, Emma Wright, and Andrew Neet

Illustrated by Jakub Misiek and Maria Gusakovich

Filmed by Charles Clements

Additional research by Gabe Strong, Geeta Thakur, and Emili Gyles

Produced by Casper Mebius, Derek Muller, Emily Zhang, Gregor Čavlović, Rob Beasley Spence, Tori Brittain, Gabe Strong, Luke Lewis, and Matthew Cavanagh

Thumbnail contributions by Ben Powell, Ren Hurley, and Peter Sheppard

Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, Storyblocks

Music from Epidemic Sound