Slanted Science

Pentacene molecules imaged by IBM scientists

Those nanoscientists have done it again. Just a couple of weeks after showing us the power of small by making a cogwheel from DNA, scientists have now given us images of molecules resolved to the level of individual atoms.

As reported in Science, a group from IBM (headed by Gerhard Meyer) used atomic force microscopy to show the submolecular structure of pentacene (a chain of  five benzene molecules). Why pentacene? Well, they probably gave several convincingly scientific-sounding reasons, but we all know that it was because everyone remembers benzene from chemistry classes, and how it had that cool ring-structure with electron clouds, and hydrogens poking out, and stuff.

So here it is: above, from the Science paper, two images of pentacene. In the lower image, pentacene molecules are shown to be nothing more than molecular caterpillars (nanopillars?) scurrying across a surface. Even at this resolution, we can begin to see the benzene ring structures, each forming a segment of the nanopillar body.

The upper image, which my hasty examination of the scale bars tells me is at approximately four times higher magnification, reveals the structure in all of its ringing glory. It could make a grown man weep: to see, revealed at last, the truth which supports all the hours spent drawing endless wobbly, randomly-angled hexagons all those years ago.

Listen, physics is not my strong suit. I blame it on the procession of the worlds most boring men who tried to teach it to me in school. But I do know this: imaging molecules and atoms is frigging cool, and I want to see more research like this.

Particularly if there’s anyone with a cheeky sense of humour out there, working on photographing a molecule which looks hilariously like a cock and balls.