Breaking Down Nanostructures by the Atom

From Scientific American:

In nanotechnology, the position of a single atom can make all the difference--whether a material functions as a semiconductor or an insulator, whether it triggers a vital chemical process or stops it cold. The ability to define every atom in a nanoparticle precisely would permit full control of the properties and behavior of a nanomaterial. But deep-down atomic imaging techniques, such as electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, are not enough for nanoengineering, because they do not provide the precise mathematical coordinates of every atom that nanotechnologists need.

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