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This Photo of a Single Trapped Atom Is Absolutely Breathtaking [View all]
It looks incredible when zoomed in.
FIONA MACDONALD 14 FEB 2018
At the very centre of the image above is something incredible - a single, positively-charged strontium atom, suspended in motion by electric fields.
Not only is this an incredibly rare sight, it's also difficult to wrap your head around the fact that this tiny point of blue light is a building block of matter.
Tiny specks of energy just like this one are at the centre of so much of the stuff around us, and the thought that we can see this one makes our hearts hurt.
In case you're struggling to get a close-enough view to see what we're talking about, the team over at Gizmodo has done the zoom work for you.
More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/photo-of-a-single-trapped-atom-wins-uk-science-photo-prize
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