Two samples, and a holder that held the samples in place in the equipment were used in experiments by William E. Moerner. The experiments led to the development of microscopes capable of showing levels of detail that had previously been impossible.
William E. Moerner donated the samples and the sample holder to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2014.
For William E. Moerner, a paper with measurement data mark an important step in the development of microscopes capable of showing levels of detail that had previously been impossible.
When an electron shifts to a lower energy level, light is emitted. When it shifts to a higher energy level, light is absorbed. The wavelengths of the light emitted differ for each element. In 1989, Moerner succeeded in measuring the light-absorption for a single molecule. The curves on the paper show which wavelengths were absorbed.
William E. Moerner donated the graph to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2014.
