Hello Jan. Good day to you. You might remember me from before. I asked you about altering the atomic structure. You answer was adequate but still some points are left out. There are just a few brief but specific questions I would like find answers to. I am guessing it doesn’t need much explanation at all. I should have asked a follow up question to you before but I was a bit occupied. Do feel free to leave out the questions that you find too difficult to answer. So previously you told me that an atomic force microscope is used to move atoms, which is in essence a charged needle. Does this mean that it is some sort of laser that has been concentrated in minute size through the atomic microscope? Could you actually see this force or charged needle with your naked eye or would you need an electron microscope to see it? Could this force or needle alter an atom individually, which is some effort or does it move them in bulks to atoms, could you give an estimate like moving a bulk of 100 atoms or 1000 atoms? This might sound a bit silly but do you think it would be possible to move an atom individually? It is just an astounding concept to deal with moving of atoms. And lastly is it true as a theory that if you was to master the movement of atoms, you could change the object composed of it into various other objects for example as a theory something totally random like a plastic into metal or a stone into wood, stone into water and just to top it up a pencil into a CD or something, which does sound a bit silly? But if possible that would be more than just extraordinarily difficult wouldn’t it? So these are my questions. If you could help me answer these question, it will be most appreciated. Thank you.
Answer Hi Derek,
The laser on an AFM is used for positioning, not for shaping anything. The needle is not visible by naked eye since it is only a few atoms across. It can move atoms which are on a surface, it is much tougher to move an atom that is in a substrate since it is much more rigidly bonded. No you cannot change materials, since the atomic structure itself (number of protons/neutrons and electrons) decide the nature of the atom and what material it is. The atomic number does give more or less scattering in the electron beam which can be used to identify it. The identification of atoms, and their accurate position determination will be a key aspect of the future of our understanding of material properties. Good luck, Jan
