---
title: "These Photos Make Molecular Structures Look Like Psychedelic Art"
description: "Scientists use an electron microscopy science technique called 4D-STEM to image the molecular structure of materials with the beautiful result of art."
date: "2019-11-06"
modified: "2019-11-08"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/photos-molecular-structures-psychedelic-art"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "electron microscope"
  - "lawrence berkeley national laboratory"
  - "materials science"
  - "the digest"
---

# These Photos Make Molecular Structures Look Like Psychedelic Art

![Scientists use an electron microscopy science technique called 4D-STEM to image the molecular structure of materials with the beautiful result of art.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/photos-molecular-structures-psychedelic-art.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Colin Ophus/Berkeley Lab\</em\>*

## Scope It Out

Electron microscopes are great at producing high-resolution images of a material's atomic structure — if the material is hard, that is. Unfortunately, the devices' electron beams can destroy softer materials, so scientists typically rely on X-rays, which can't reach atomic resolution, to image those.

But scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have published a pair of studies in the journals *[Nature Communications](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-10416-5>)* and *[Nature Materials](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-019-0387-3>)* showing how a technique called 4D-STEM allowed them to use electron microscopy to image soft materials without destroying them.

And the images resulting from their research are downright gorgeous.

![photos-molecular-structures-psychedelic-art](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/electron-microscope-1200x630.jpg>)
*Image Credit: Colin Ophus/Berkeley Lab*

## Double Time

According to a [newly published press release](<https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/11/05/atoms-in-their-neighborhoods/>), the *Nature* *Communications* study focused on the use of 4D-STEM to image bulk metallic glass, which has an unpredictable molecular structure. This allowed the researchers to identify atomic-scale weak points in the material that could ultimately cause it to fracture under stress.

For the *Nature* *Materials* study, meanwhile, the researchers used the 4D-STEM technique to image the molecular ordering in a semiconductor before and after the introduction of a processing additive — research that, according to the press release, could impact the field of solar energy.

"\[I\]n these studies, we’ve shown that when 4D-STEM is deployed with our high-speed detectors, customizable algorithms, and powerful electron microscopes, the technique can help scientists map out atomic or molecular regions in any material — even beam-sensitive, soft materials — that weren’t possible to see with previous techniques," lead researcher Andrew Minor said in the press release.

**READ MORE:** [World-Leading Microscopes Take Candid Snapshots of Atoms in Their 'Neighborhoods'](<https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/11/05/atoms-in-their-neighborhoods/>) \[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory\]

**More on electron microscopy:** *[Tiny New CRISPR Protein Could Make Human Gene-Hacking Less Risky](<https://futurism.com/crispr-protein-casx-gene-editing>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)