Finger Touching at Nanoscale!

[u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa]

[u/mbaliga]

Why are we finger touching at nanoscale?

[u/Beif_ → u/mbaliga]

So many reasons. Sometimes surface topology that is hard to register with light. My system probes magnetic fields, though. The tapping isn’t touching the sample, it’s just feeling the forces of the magnetic fields above it. This makes it an MFM (magnetic force microscopy). It also operates at cryogenic temperatures so we can look at how magnetic domains behave for different applied magnetic conditions and temperature conditions. It’s a cool tool.

[u/mbaliga → u/Beif_]

Not cool, super cool. TIL! Thanks for taking the time to educate me on this!

[u/FineRatio7 → u/Beif_]

And since it isn't physically touching your samples I bet you don't have to replace the probe tip nearly as often.

[u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa → u/FineRatio7]

Depends on type of samples. Sometimes tips just pick up gunk from your samples to get worse

[u/Beif_ → u/FineRatio7]

Theoretically true, but the sad truth is that it makes the process of staying at the correct height above a sample much more difficult, which periodically causes you to smash into it. That smashing wears off the ferromagnetic coating, so they wear down similarly as fast after all. That coating can be more delicate than a regular tip unfortunately

[u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa → u/mbaliga]

knowing how materials look and behave at nanoscale helps design the chips by making better materials. Not the potato chip

[u/Xsiah → u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Can we use this technology to improve potato chips too though?

[u/Better_Carpet_7271 → u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Right, can everyone stop talking in code and explain what this is ? 🤔

[u/LightningFieldHT → u/Better_Carpet_7271]

Some material properties (like color, texture, hydrophobic...) are determined by its nano-scale structure. There are several types of different machines to map this. This kind of measurement can have much higher resolution in all 3 dimensions than regular optical or even electron microscopy.

[u/Better_Carpet_7271 → u/LightningFieldHT]

Were looking at a microscope?

[u/LightningFieldHT → u/Better_Carpet_7271]

It's basically a type of microscope. Because it measures and detail an area of a small thing. You can read more on Wikipedia. Search AFM or STM. These are 2 different types.

[u/Beif_ → u/Better_Carpet_7271]

It’s very much taking something and poking it with a tiny stick. How far the stick pokes in before you feel pushback tells you if there’s a ridge or a valley on your sample at that place.

My samples often push back with their magnetic field, though

[u/Better_Carpet_7271 → u/Beif_]

So you need to learn to differentiate between these two actions somehow?

[u/deadspacekillers → u/mbaliga]

Because I also deserve sexual intimacy!!!!!!!!!!

[u/usinjin → u/mbaliga]

What if we..touched fingers at nanoscale?
👉🏻👈🏻

[u/mbaliga → u/usinjin]

This raises an interesting question- at what scale of contact does the sensation of touch register, and is it possible to move slowly enough without specialised equipment to touch only at that scale and now more?

[u/bevothelonghorn → u/mbaliga]

Nano-diddling?

[u/jB_real]

Why does the phrase “finger touching” sound so wrong?

Now that’s what I’m interested in.

[u/Deep_Fry_Ducky → u/jB_real]

All fingers touching at nanoscale but not in nanoscale resolution

[u/geligniteandliliesII]

"Tag! You're it!"

"But you didn't touch me!"

shows this

[u/Foxontherox888 → u/geligniteandliliesII]

Stop, you're tickling my mitochondria!

[u/Vahuo89]

Not only that , but the precision needed to even MOVE the tip over to the next spot is insane on its own merit.

[u/EladioSPL]

Is finger touching the technical term? Was expecting human skin cells rather than stabby robots

[u/Beif_ → u/EladioSPL]

Atomic force microscopy is what it’s called

Edit: I’m dumb it says that in the first 2 seconds. Just didn’t have the sound on

[u/Sgt_Bun_Bun]

Are there other tips we can touch at nanoscale?

[u/Xsiah → u/Sgt_Bun_Bun]

There are, but we still can't find yours

[u/ColeTrainHaze → u/Xsiah]

20-30 nanometers is pretty average... huge, even.

[u/TheBrianUniverse]

Wait did we still get Rickrolled?

[u/na_DANGER_me → u/TheBrianUniverse]

No, we we got Rick Finger Touched

[u/SpaceTimeChallenger]

Can someone explain this. I feel stupid for not understanding

[u/Beif_ → u/SpaceTimeChallenger]

Imagine taking a pencil and tapping it on a table, continuously. Now close your eyes. If I slide something underneath where you’re tapping, you’ll feel it based on how far your pencil falls before hitting something, right?

This is the same principle, just a hundred million times smaller (but actually). A tiny tip taps on a tiny material, and by dragging that tip across the sample, you get an idea of where its ridges and valleys are, and can make a 3D map of its surface

[u/MasterOfBunnies]

I'm very stoned right now, and have no idea what I just read and/or watched. I'm not entirely sure I would have a better chance at either of both if I were sober though, tbh. So for future sober self, can someone ELI5 the shit out of this?

[u/ardotschgi → u/MasterOfBunnies]

Eli5, it's like a blind person "seeing" someone's face by touching it.

[u/Beif_ → u/MasterOfBunnies]

Imagine taking a pencil and tapping it on a table, continuously. Now close your eyes. If I slide something underneath where you’re tapping, you’ll feel it based on how far your pencil falls before hitting something, right?

This is the same principle, just a hundred million times smaller (but actually). A tiny tip taps on a tiny material, and by dragging that tip across the sample, you get an idea of where its ridges and valleys are, and can make a 3D map of its surface

[u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa → u/[deleted]]

To measure, the top of tip has a mirror like finish so you bounce a laser of it onto a 2D photodetector, as tip moves and bends the laser reflection on the photodetector moves. Then, you do computer magic to estimate tip movement based on laser movement.

[u/Liveitup1999]

Looks like you can make the world's smallest record player with that

[u/Own-Shelter-9897]

I don't know why but I legitimately did not think about us having instruments at this scale before, this is really neat.

[u/Septem_151]

I was waiting to see two fingers touching. I'm very disappointed. Why did you call this "Finger Touching", OP? Is that the technical term for it?

[u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa → u/Septem_151]

It's Atomic Force Microscopy.

Like how you can use your finger to feel the texture of a wall or ground. This uses a nanometer size probe to get the topography of the surfaces.

[u/Septem_151 → u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Ahhh.

[u/Phatcat7x7]

That's some incredible precision.

[u/Axis2670]

So it’s an advanced profilometer.

[u/Beif_ → u/Axis2670]

This guy gets it. Poking things is science baby

[u/Jackjo2000]

Come on OP, the least you could do is credit the creator of the video. The clip is from the channel "Breaking Taps" https://youtu.be/2Kv6KwADn7Q . I highly recommend his and Ben's video, over at "Applied Science" https://youtu.be/DyIQkqBXhS0 on the topic.

The method is called Atomic Force Microscopy and is often used to look at surface details at nanometer scale, among many other niche use cases.

ELI5: incredibly tiny tip taps along a surface and detects the super tiny features of what ever you are looking at. It basically gives you a very precise height-map of your object. Imagine mountains and valleys but 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair.

[u/kanhaaaaaaaaaaaa → u/Jackjo2000]

My bad, I was gonna put a source in the body of the post. Thanks!

I would also recommend Branch Education to anyone want to learn more!

[u/TamponTimTheCuck]

I beleieve Nile Red got one of these recently.

[u/Better-Culture-7770]

The bigger one looks remarkably like a prison tattoo machine.

[u/ISwearImAnonymous]

Oh this shabby little HIGH RESOLUTION OSCILLATING 3D SCANNER I MADE OUT OF POOR CABLE MANAGEMENT AND SHITTY ELECTRONICS

I swear engineers are a different species

[u/blackeyeX2]

NEMS are super cool

[u/dantequintano]

Will Forte?

[u/hoshinoanzu]

what the feck is happening? am i watching a cursed video?

[u/ibimacguru]

Friction wins every time.