
What is the most powerful microscope?
There are two microscopes that can zoom in to a resolution of less than an angstrom (one ten-millionth of a millimetre).
Asked by: Jenny Finnegan, London
Two mega-microscopes spring to mind. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is home to the TEAM 0.5. It’s the most powerful transmission electron microscope in the world and has a resolution of half an angstrom (one ten-millionth of a millimetre). That’s narrower than a single hydrogen atom. And Canada’s McMaster University has two massively powerful Titan 80-300 electron microscopes capable of imaging down to about one angstrom.
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