Friday, September 18, 2026
Science

Electron and photon beams drive same gold-forming reaction toward different nanoscale structures

Beauty and mystery—it is hard to imagine a more alluring combination, and this is precisely what we encounter when we observe phenomena in the nanoworld. But are we really sure that observations made using modern microscopic techniques do not influence what is happening there? A comparison of images...

Electron and photon beams drive same gold-forming reaction toward different nanoscale structures
Image: Phys.org
Beauty and mystery—it is hard to imagine a more alluring combination, and this is precisely what we encounter when we observe phenomena in the nanoworld. But are we really sure that observations made using modern microscopic techniques do not influence what is happening there? A comparison of images of copper oxide nanoparticles reacting with chloroauric acid, obtained using electron and photon beams, has yielded unexpected results.

Originally published at Phys.org

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