2023-08-12-135000

*EMBARGOED UNTIL 16.00 BST, WED MAY 31 (11.00 EDT)*

When X-rays (blue color) illuminate onto an iron atom (red ball at the center of the molecule), core level electrons are excited. X-ray excited electrons are then tunnel to the detector tip (gray) via overlapping atomic/molecular orbitals, which provide elemental and chemical information of the iron atom. See SWNS story SWSCatom. A single atom has been X-rayed for the first time in a breakthrough that scientists believe will “transform the world”. They say it paves the way for finding cures for major life-threatening diseases. Superfast quantum computers are also on the horizon – along with smartphone apps to replace the Web. Atoms are the smallest part of a substance that cannot be broken down chemically.