Description:

A Nano-human view of an alpha particle recoil pit on the surface of mica.  This STM image has a full width of  3 microns.  An alpha particle is a high-energy helium nucleus that is the lowest-energy form of nuclear radiation.  It's impact on a solid surface can cause physical damage by causing other atoms in the surface to be moved out of place.  These types of defects can be potential "fatal" in high density electronics and nanodevices.

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