The first image of atomic bonds ever taken

Berkeley Lab scientists make the first-ever high-resolution images of a molecule as it breaks and reforms chemical bonds.

Using a state-of-the-art atomic force microscope, the scientists have taken the first atom-by-atom pictures, including images of the chemical bonds between atoms, clearly depicting how a molecule’s structure changed during a reaction. Until now, scientists have only been able to infer this type of information from spectroscopic analysis. [via]