11 ms·
Other atoms, but further away. Effectively the background is blurred because it's out of focus. The depth of field is thin enough that this works. (These are an
by SAI_Peregrinus 9y ago
Other atoms, but further away. Effectively the background is blurred because it's out of focus. The depth of field is thin enough that this works. (These are analogies. It's not strictly correct.)
- bdamm 9y agoIt's so far from correct as to be not a useful analogy. The real question is, how is the microscope's output converted into a visual picture? Hint, it isn't by lensing light. Thus there is no "focus" to be out of.
- SAI_Peregrinus 9y agoAn atomic force microscope produces images by sensing atoms with a probe. It scans in a planar layer, analogous to a very narrow depth of field for a film camera. The background atoms do exert force on the probe, but much more weakly.