One of the most basic things we learn even as young children is that the smallest building block of matter is the atom. Today, a first in the world of science, atoms, which are the most basic building blocks of every substance in the universe, were observed with X-rays. Scientists have observed an atom for the first time with X-rays.

With the new study, the smallest building block observed with X-rays was reduced to an atomic grain. Scientists expect this success to pave the way for many new paths and discoveries.

The photo you see above is an X-ray image of the supramolecule made up of a single iron atom.

In this image, there are supramolecular structures formed by 6 ribidium and an iron atom.

With today's technology, it is even possible to observe and photograph atoms in a normal way. However, the inside of anything cannot be imaged without X-rays, and the same is true for atoms.

Observing atoms with X-rays will allow us to better see what's inside our smallest and most fundamental building block. At the same time, he will be able to obtain much more detailed information about the chemical state of an atom.

The first of these discoveries was actually made with the study. When scientists examined the extremely rare terbium atom, they found that the atom did not change its chemical state. The iron atom, on the other hand, was interacting intensely with its surroundings.

The study was carried out by scientists from Ohio University, the University of Chicago and the Argonne National Laboratory, published in Nature.