This isn't the view through your childhood kaleidoscope. Nor is it an alien craft come to beam you up. In fact, it's the world's first atomic force microscopy image of chemical bonds inside an individual molecule.


Created by IBM scientists in Zurich, Switzerland, using noncontact atomic force microscopy, the image shows the varying electron concentration around a molecule of nanographene. In other words, it shows the covalent bonds inside the molecule, depicting how long and strong they are. IBM scientists explain:


Of course, as well as making for ground-breaking science, the images also look incredibly cool. Good enough for a desktop image? [IBM]


Image by IBM