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Science

hunter

(40,760 posts)

7. To be more accurate, it's the ***light*** from a single atom.

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Feb 14, 2018, 01:51 PM

Feb 2018

The atom is zipping around like crazy in its confinement, "bouncing off the walls" so to speak, absorbing ultraviolet light and emitting visible light along the way.

I'd guess the spot of light the camera recorded represents the size of the cell the atom is trapped in and/or distortions in the camera's optics.

It's a very remarkable picture.

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