For an outsider it seems like an odd thing to do, theorize about how atoms of gold and other elements might be arranged. I assume this is why there are people who like to write and people (physicists and others) who like to theorize about atoms. The July 26, 2012 news item on Nanowerk notes that a theory about gold atoms has been successfully visualized at the University of Birmingham , UK (Note: I have removed a link),
Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a method to visualise gold on the nanoscale by using a special probe beam to image 20 atoms of gold bound together to make a cluster. The research is published today (26 July 2012) in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Nanoscale (“Direct atomic imaging and dynamical fluctuations of the tetrahedral Au20 cluster”).
This is the part of the story I found rather interesting (from the University of Birmingham’s July 19, 2012 pre-released news item ,
Physicists have theorised for many years how atoms of gold and other elements would be arranged and ten years ago the structure of a 20-atom tetrahedral pyramid was proposed by scientists in the US. Birmingham physicists can now reveal this atomic arrangement for the first time by imaging the cluster with an electron microscope.
Here’s the image the scientists have produced,
A cluster of twenty atoms of gold is visualised for the first time by Birmingham physicists
The work is not entirely devoted to theory (from the pre-released news item),
Richard Palmer, the University of Birmingham’s Professor of Experimental Physics, Head of the Nanoscale Physics Research Laboratory, and lead investigator, said: ‘We are working to drive up the rate of production of these very precisely defined nano-objects to supply to companies for applications such as catalysis. Selective processes generate less waste and avoid harmful biproducts – this is green chemistry using gold.’
I’m not sure how you go from a 20-gold-atom tetrahedron to driving up the rate of production, so I’m hoping to hear more about this in the future.