Wrote for the Tartan this week

I wrote for the Tartan this week. I wrote how AFM works. Please digg my article.



Brief preview of the article:

Atomic force microscopy (AFM), a popular tool for imaging, measuring, and manipulating matter at the nanoscale, was invented in 1986 and was commercialized in 1989. This type of microscopy gathers information by feeling the surface with mechanical probes. AFM is a type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) in which the image of a surface is obtained by moving a probe over a sample and recording the interactions between the probe and the surface of the sample.

AFM is used for a variety of biological applications, including imaging molecules, cells, tissues, and biomaterials. At Carnegie Mellon, AFM is being used to study peptides and lipoproteins. AFM, popularly used in nanotechnology research, has been used to image the surface of the ivy plant to understand how it climbs structures, as stated in an article on www.photonics.com.

According to www.veeco.com, AFM is on the cutting edge of science since it provides true three-dimensional surface images. AFM is used to image and manipulate atoms and structures on many different surfaces. Samples viewed by AFM do not need any special treatments. The technology provides higher resolution images than other methods such as the scanning electron microscope. It is also favorable since it has the ability to operate in liquids and work with sample sizes ranging from a few nanometers up to several micrometers.

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