That’s the claim for the Orion Helium Ion Microscope from ALIS (Atomic Level Imaging Source), a Peabody, Massachusetts-based unit of Carl Zeiss SMT AG. It’s a next-generation microsocope that will enable us to see things we’ve never been able to see before, even with the most sophisticated scanning electron microsocope. The company has already sold one unit and has five more under construction. (Via MedGadget.)

I haven’t been this excited since I got my first microscope the Christmas I turned seven…although I don’t suppose I can expect one of these under the tree. Pity. (Illustration from ALIS.)

[tags]microscopy, technology, optics[/tags]