Machines like the scanning electron microscope or an x-ray crystallography machine allows us to peer inside atomic structures to some extent. The problem is th

Machines like the scanning electron microscope or an x-ray crystallography machine allows us to peer inside atomic structures to some extent. The problem is that of scale: visible light has a wavelength of 380-750 nm (10^-9 meters) while the atomic radius of even large atoms are still in the ~200 pm (10^-12m) which means that visible light still has a wavelength 1000 times that of an atomic radius. To peer more closely at an atom, you would need to be able to use something moving at a much smaller wavelength, like an x-ray or a focused beam of electrons.