8 ms·
Atomic resolution video of salt crystals forming in real time
- sp332 5y agoI know it's just from this year, but January feels like a long time ago.
- endisneigh 5y agoat what point does the observing affect the observation?
- sparsely 5y agoI think in this case the surface interaction effects with the nanotube are likely to be much bigger
- dotancohen 5y agoWhen she shuts the blinds and calls the cops.
- twodai 5y agoThis is lewd but funny, I needed that laugh.
- tryauuum 5y agoLooks so neat. I hope people from SaltStack will see this
- amelius 5y agoHow could they tell from the video which atoms were Na and which were Cl?
- rsfern 5y agoI think it’s a combination of atomic radius and Z contrast (heavier atoms show differently from lighter ones in the TEM). It also helps that the crystal structure is known They also describe some comparison to forward modeling in the methods section, which is cool https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/jacs.0c12100/suppl_file/ja0c12100_si_001.pdf https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/jacs.0c12100/suppl_fi...
- miduil 5y agoPrevious discussion: > Atomic resolution video of salt crystals forming in real time (u-tokyo.ac.jp) > 664 points by rbanffy 8 months ago | 125 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25874497 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25874497
- gavinray 5y ago"growing" Expected video to show process of atoms slowly forming together or something to shape my mental model. What I got was a full-formed grid of little atom things that just seemed to spring into existence between two frames. It's still cool. But I am not less confused.
- ASalazarMX 5y agoThe grid appears suddenly, but strips of atoms keep piling on like those magnet ball toys, and it looks like it grows too big for its containment. Maybe it grows slower as it gains more surface?
- danparsonson 5y agoFrom the article it seems like the 'springing into existence' is a process called nucleation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleation.
- steerablesafe 5y agoMy guess is that individual atoms entering and leaving the formation happens on a much faster timescale than the formation switching between quasi-stable states. It's almost as-if there are mini phase-transitions between formation sizes, it's fascinating.
- crispyambulance 5y agoBoth modes are possible, if I read it correctly (see the bottom half of the first figure). Pieces of the lattice can "spring" into existence very quickly-- that's a phase transition. But, once formed, it can also "grow" atom by atom.
- lmilcin 5y agoThe individual atoms are much more mobile than the crystalline structure here. They are probably moving way too fast to be captured on a time scale that the crystal grows. Think in terms of trying to make video of a tree growing and expecting to see individual water droplets falling from the sky. You can infer the droplets must be there (as the ground would otherwise dry out and the tree die) but it is not possible to have a video of tree growing sped up so that a human can see it growing but also show water droplets falling from the sky.
- everyone 5y agoIs there a link to just the video anywhere?
- johtso 5y agoThis reminds me of my first time using a microscope. I was on a course on mushroom identification and we were looking at spores and other microscopic features. I was so surprised when I saw shapes in the viewfinder that didn't look organic. There were squares and pyramids, it looked like Aztec ruins. And they were growing before my eyes! I then realised it was the reagents crystallising in the heat of the lamp. The world of microscopes is like magic, it's a shame that more people aren't exposed to it. Even just a quality 10x hand lens opens up a whole world of detail that we don't usually see.
- hellbannedguy 5y agoGood used microscopes are so cheap now. If I had a child, it would be on their desk early, like kindergarden.
- xattt 5y agoAny suggestions for models to be on the look out for? I bought some generic plastic $45 CAD kit that’s good enough, but would love to have an idea of what to focus on next.
- beecafe 5y agoIf you want something a bit DIY but very capable, check out the openFlexure scope. It's a 3d printed body to which you can add an objective and it has a 3d printable micropositioning stage and Pi camera mount.
- yummypaint 5y agoCheck out the foldscope
- cromwellian 5y agoAtomic resolution real-time video at 25 frames per second!!! Holy cow! I mean, the nanohorns and salt crystal study is cool and all, but the real time video!? That's mind blowing, the kind of stuff we saw on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- arthurcolle 5y agoI believe this is from last year, I remember those little squares from a past life. EDIT: January 12, 2021 - looks like my brain isn't fully swiss cheesed yet after all
- singularity2001 5y ago20 seconds? I thought molecules speed through a thousand cells in a fraction of a second!? How come the formation of salt in this setting is so (relatively) exorbitantly slow?
- G3rn0ti 5y agoWhile we don’t have flying cars, watching single sodium and chloride ions forming crystals in 25 FPS surely makes me feel like living in the future, finally.
- MerelyMortal 5y agoI wonder if there is a (filter/algorithm/idk) that can recognize the noise in the video and remove it, leaving only the outline of the nanohorn and the crystals.
- dredmorbius 5y agoQuestions for any chemistry geeks present. Seeing this, my immediate thoughs are: - Any "salt water" solution we experience is likely not actually salt crystals in water, but ionic Na+ and Cl-. And when we produce salt through evaporation, that's actually the process shown in this video occurring, with fresh crystals of salt forming from the brine. - What we taste as "salt" isn't actually the taste of salt, but of an Na+ + Cl- ionic solution, dissolved in our saliva. I'm not even sure we could physiologically taste salt itself, but it would likely not be the same. Any validity to either of these thoughts?