[HN Gopher] LEGO2NANO - Open-Source Atomic Force Microscope - Wh... ___________________________________________________________________ LEGO2NANO - Open-Source Atomic Force Microscope - What Is an AFM? Author : peter_d_sherman Score : 12 points Date : 2021-02-05 10:06 UTC (1 days ago) (HTM) web link (web.archive.org) (TXT) w3m dump (web.archive.org) | peter_d_sherman wrote: | >"How does an AFM work? | | An AFM 'sees' objects in the same way a blind person does, by | feeling the surface using a long flexible stick; lumps and bumps | on the surface cause the stick to bend up and down, allowing you | to build a picture of it. An AFM is basically a scaled down | record player which can read any surface, not just records, | generating pictures instead of music. This idea may sound a bit | confusing, but it simply sums up the basic function of an AFM. | | In an AFM there are a few key parts; a cantilever, a laser with | its optics system, a stage, a box of electronics and some | vibration control. By taking these components and putting them | together we can make a state-of-the-art microscope." | | [...] | | "One situation where we might consider using an AFM is when we | want to see features smaller than 1um. In a really good AFM you | can see surface atoms - yeah individual atoms -which are under a | nanometre (over 1000 times smaller than 1um!). Not all AFMs can | do this, but they can still get some big resolution improvements | over an optical microscope." | | Also: | | "What's the big idea?": | | https://web.archive.org/web/20150826220219/http://openafm.co... | | https://web.archive.org/web/20150826192716/https://openafm.c... | | >"LEGO2NANO is an international student project making real | science accessible to young people, by developing low cost | scientific equipment for schools and beyond. | | Over the last three years of the summer school in Beijing, | international and interdisciplinary teams of university students | have developed their Open AFM--an open-source atomic force | microscope assembled from cheap, off-the-shelf electronic | components, Arduino, Lego and 3D printable /laser cut parts." | | https://www.instituteofmaking.org.uk/research/lego2nano | chmod775 wrote: | Wouldn't surprise me if this doesn't exist anymore beacause it | had "LEGO" in its name. | | LEGO likely employs more lawyers than product people at this | point, and they're _really_ anal about defending their trademark, | because that 's pretty much all they have left. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2021-02-06 23:00 UTC)