The last opposition to the existence of atoms vanished in the early 20th century when techniques were developed that portrayed visual representations of atoms. The first such techniques made use of the diffraction of X-rays, where the pattern of interference between rays that are reflected by a crystal can be interpreted in terms of the scattering from individual atoms. More images of atoms were produced in the 1960s by using methods that stripped electrons out of arrays of atoms at the surfaces of solids so that a map of the surface could be made, as well as by using improved ...(100 of 27318 words)