Field Ionization of Gases at a Metal Surface and the Resolution of the Field Ion Microscope (Müller, pp. 624-631) WITH Field Desorption (Müller, pp. 618-624) WITH Elastic Scattering of 188-Mev Electrons from the Proton and the Alpha Particle (McAllister & Hofstadter, pp. 851-856) WITH Example of an Antiproton-Nucleon Annihilation (Chamberlain & Segrè, et al., pp. 921-922) in in Physical Review 102 No. 3, May 1, 1956

Lancaster: American Physical Society, 1956. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPS OF MÜLLER'S DESCRIPTION OF THE FIELD ION MICROSCOPE USED IN THE FIRST VIEWING OF AN INDIVIDUAL ATOM. Two other significant papers are included as well: in one, Robert Hofstadter calculates the size of a proton; in the second, Chamberlain and Segrè provide the first definitive proof of antiproton annihilation (and thereby of antiproton discovery).

Müller and Bahadur present "one of the most significant microscopy milestones" of the 20th century, "the first images of individual atoms obtained in a field ion microscope" (Miller, Microscopy Milestones, 1). Müller was able to obtain "an atomic image of the surface of a tungsten tip, thus becoming the first person to see atoms" (Bud, Instruments of Science, 385). "For the first time in history, individual atoms and their arrangement on a surface could be seen" (International Institute of Nanotechnology). In this paper, the authors include the first images and detail the field ion microscope that they used. "The field ion microscope employed a very sharp cryogenically cooled probe made of metallic crystal that sensed ions being repelled from an object near the tip of the probe" (History of Physics, The Wenner Collection). Müller and Bahadur were able to view individual atoms "14 years before the scanning transmission electron microscope was able to match this accomplishment" (ibid).

ALSO INCLUDED: Robert Hofstadter's paper calculates the size of a proton, puts forth "the first direct evidence that nucleons have a size" and is the work that won him the 1961 Nobel Prize (Watson, The Quantum Quark, 222). Hofstadter and his "colleagues measured the way in which the cross-section depended on the electron scattering angle, showing conclusively that the proton is not a point-like entity, but that it has a finite size" (ibid).

ALSO INCLUDED: Owen Chamberlain and Emilio Segrè were awarded the Nobel Prize for the full body of their work presenting "the discovery of the antiproton", this paper being a part of that work (Nobel Prize Committee). CONDITION & DETAILS: First edition in original wraps. Single issue. Lancaster: American Physical Society. Slight wear at the edges of the wraps. Very good condition.