The News
Atomic microscopy offers chemical ID
OSAKA, Japan, March 1 (UPI) -- Japanese scientists say they've discovered it is possible to use atomic force microscopy to identify the chemical makeup of individual surface atoms.
Atomic force microscopy works by measuring the short-range forces that occur between a tiny tip and the atoms on the surface of a sample, allowing the structure of that surface to be imaged with atomic resolution.
But the precise forces between the tip and the atoms also depend subtly on the identity of the atoms involved. Oscar Custance and colleagues at Osaka University refined the imaging technique to the point where it's possible to not only to detect individual atoms but also recognize their chemical identity, even at room temperature.

The Research
Read the research behind this story in the journal Nature.