Ikigai Daily
WonderAtomic imaging technology1,951 of 1,961

A scanning tunnelling microscope maps a conducting surface by holding an atom-sharp tip extremely close and measuring the quantum current that tunnels across the gap.

The tunnelling microscope listens across the gap

ScienceTechnologyEngineering

Why it matters

The idea in context

Classically, electrons in the sample and tip should remain separated by the vacuum barrier. Quantum mechanics gives their wave-like probability a small reach beyond it, creating a tunnelling current that changes steeply with distance. As feedback raises and lowers the tip to keep that current steady, the motion becomes a map of the surface's electronic topography. Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer turned this effect into an instrument at IBM Zurich, earning a share of the 1986 Physics Nobel Prize. Near enough, a forbidden crossing becomes a ruler.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Taramalı tünelleme mikroskobu, atomik ölçekte sivri bir ucu iletken yüzeye son derece yaklaştırıp aradaki boşluktan tünelleyen kuantum akımını ölçerek harita çıkarır.
Tünelleme mikroskobu boşluğu dinliyor

Klasik fiziğe göre örnekteki ve uçtaki elektronların vakum engeliyle ayrı kalması gerekir. Kuantum mekaniği, dalga benzeri olasılıklarının engelin biraz ötesine uzanmasına izin verir; böylece uzaklıkla çok keskin değişen bir tünelleme akımı doğar. Geri besleme, akımı sabit tutmak için ucu kaldırıp indirirken bu hareket yüzeyin elektronik topografyasına dönüşür. Gerd Binnig ile Heinrich Rohrer bu etkiyi IBM Zürih'te bir cihaza çevirdi ve 1986 Fizik Nobel Ödülü'nü paylaştı. Yeterince yakında, yasak geçiş bir cetvel olur.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

Background reading: Scanning tunneling microscopeAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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