atomic force microscope

noun

: an instrument used for mapping the atomic-scale topography of a surface by means of the repulsive electronic forces between the surface and the tip of a microscope probe moving above the surface

—abbreviation AFM

atomic force microscopy noun

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

In the first image, taken with an atomic force microscope, lobes or waves are observed. —Matías A. Loewy, Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2023

Working with rat neurons grown in a petri dish in the laboratory, the team artificially connected two neurons using an atomic force microscope and tiny, polystyrene spheres. —Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 9 Feb. 2016

This artist rendering is based on an image of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) taken with an atomic force microscope (AFM). —Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2018

Gerd Binnig shared the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience in 2016 for inventing the atomic force microscope. —Scientific American Custom Media, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2021

This tiny arm with a shard from a smashed needle was the first version of what would become known as the atomic force microscope, or AFM. —Scientific American Custom Media, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2021

To examine the microstructure of sidewinder scales, her team used an atomic force microscope to scan naturally shed snake skins, provided by institutions such as the Atlanta Zoo. —New York Times, 1 Feb. 2021

The electrons follow wires etched onto an interface using an atomic force microscope. —Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 17 Feb. 2020

The chemists then used the tip of an atomic force microscope to zap off the CO groups, eventually removing them all to create their 18-carbon ring (simulated above). —Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, 15 Aug. 2019

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Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

atomic force microscope

noun

: an instrument used for mapping the atomic-scale topography of a surface by means of the repulsive electronic forces between the surface and the tip of a microscopic probe moving above the surface

—abbreviation AFM