What is the Smallest Object Ever Seen with a Microscope?

[Domnu]

From quantum mechanics, you can't really "see" an electron cloud... particularly, not all parts of the cloud are really even occupied... the cloud just represents the probability density of an electron actually being there.

 

[SnailTrail]

http://www.insidescience.org/research/first_detailed_photos_of_atoms

here is the closest thing to what you are looking for that I could find...

 

[dwainegibson]

Just registered in order to call Flatland a berk. And also to post the truth on the matter.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-05/uoc--uru050310.php

 

[Borek]

This is not better result than IBM single atoms mentioned earlier. Well - it is new in terms of them being able to picture organic matter, I think IBM worked on metal surfaces, but the resolution sounds to be about the same.

 

[Ignorant]

Hi there,

It looks like that nobody before IBM or those guys at UCLA has ever seen how an atom looks like :)

Does it mean that obtaining real images of atoms is quite a recent achievement?