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The de Broglie Wavelength02:32

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In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...
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Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene
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Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene

Published on: August 22, 2017

Coherent low-energy electron diffraction on individual nanometer sized objects.

Elvira Steinwand1, Jean-Nicolas Longchamp, Hans-Werner Fink

  • 1Physics Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Ultramicroscopy
|March 1, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a new method for determining the structure of single molecules using low-energy electron diffraction. This technique uses a focused electron beam to capture scattering data from individual nanometer-sized objects, overcoming previous limitations in structural biology.

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Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026

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Microcrystal Electron Diffraction of Small Molecules
09:48

Microcrystal Electron Diffraction of Small Molecules

Published on: March 15, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Structural Biology
  • Materials Science
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Current structural biology methods necessitate averaging data from millions of molecules.
  • Determining the structure of a single 3D molecule via scattering experiments presents significant challenges.
  • Need for non-destructive, coherent radiation sources and phase problem solutions in single-molecule analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To devise a novel scheme for single-molecule structural determination.
  • To overcome the limitations of traditional averaging techniques in structural biology.
  • To enable detailed structural analysis from individual nanometer-sized objects.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized coherent low-energy electrons shaped into a collimated beam.
  • Employed an electrostatic microlens for precise beam focusing.
  • Performed coherent low-energy electron diffraction (CLEED) experiments.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated the feasibility of the devised scheme on individual nanometer-sized objects.
  • Successfully obtained diffraction data from a single carbon nanotube.
  • Validated the potential for single-molecule structural analysis using this technique.

Conclusions:

  • The developed scheme offers a viable path towards single-molecule structural determination.
  • Coherent low-energy electron diffraction shows promise for analyzing individual nanostructures.
  • This technique advances the field of structural biology by enabling analysis at the single-molecule level.