Information • Textbooks • Media • Resources edited by
Journal of Chemical Education Software
Jon L. Holmes Nancy S. Gettys University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI 53706
Flying over Atoms CD-ROM: Abstract of Special Issue 19 John R. Markham Laconia High School, Rosendale, WI 54974 Flying over Atoms is a CD-ROM for Mac OS and Windows that provides tools for teaching about atoms and solid surfaces in an introductory chemistry course. Flying over Atoms introduces and stimulates interest in atomic surfaces and current methods for imaging at the atomic scale. Flying over Atoms uses scanning tunneling microscope (STM) data and the software program Vistapro, published by Rom Tech, Inc. (not provided), to allow students to create QuickTime movies of atomic landscapes. Several sample movies created using Vistapro by the author and his students at Laconia High School are provided on the CD as are an introduction to scanning tunneling microscopy, a lesson plan, and STM images and data files. A clean silicon surface that was imaged at a negative sample bias. In other words, the microscope was probing the filled states.
Contents Flying over Atoms includes: •
An introduction to scanning tunneling microscopy
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STM images in Photoshop, TIFF, and JPEG format
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QuickTime movies of explorations of the surfaces
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A lesson plan that includes everything you need to know to get your students started flying over atoms using Vistapro
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Data files from STM experiments for use with Vistapro
About This Issue Flying over Atoms is one of JCE Software’s most interesting and unusual publications. It represents a partnership between a dedicated high school teacher and a team of research scientists that should be an inspiration to teachers and researchers alike. The original submission of data files for Vistapro and a few introductory images blossomed into an exciting col-
I have to say this is one of the most interesting and innovative submissions to JCE Software I’ve seen in a long time. Bravo to the author.
lection of information, images, and movies that allows students to experience surfaces at the atomic level, even without Vistapro. Reviewer Comments Our reviewers (experienced computer-oriented chemistry educators) had this to say about Flying over Atoms: I would very much like to see this program published. I believe it is a very creative application of Vistapro. My high school students were very curious about each picture. Probably lots of us have been using STM images in our introductory classes to make the existence of atoms more believable to skeptical students. The animations present in this submission make the images much more interesting—the motion adding to the 3D perception. I think it’s also nice that the STM data was obtained from an honest-to-goodness researcher—almost pioneer—in the STM field. I have to say this is one of the most interesting and innovative submissions to JCE Software I’ve seen in a long time. Bravo to the author.
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Information • Textbooks • Media • Resources The author became familiar with Vistapro when he used the data for Mars included on the Vistapro CD with his physics students. He wondered if the elevation data from a scanning tunneling microscope could be used with Vistapro. A data translation utility made this possible. The resulting data files, images, and movies evolved into the Flying over Atoms CD. Hardware and Software Requirements Hardware and software requirements for Flying over Atoms are listed in Table 1. Acknowledgments A close-up perspective of the surface of silver. Each step has vertical height of 2.5 Å. Individual atoms are not resolved owing to the “sea of electrons” characteristic of a metal.
How To Use This CD-ROM Flying over Atoms is appropriate for use in introductory chemistry classes. Instructors can use the images and introduction as lecture aids when introducing solids and surfaces. The materials are also appropriate for independent use by individual students or groups of students. The images and movies will allow students to explore many aspects of solid surfaces. If they have access to Vistapro, students can explore the surfaces on their own, finding and identifying interesting surface features. Students need guidance as they use the materials in Flying over Atoms. The instructor should become familiar with STM by using the materials in Flying over Atoms and then present an explanation to students. It is the author’s experience that high school students will not sit down with materials like Flying over Atoms and go through all the reference materials independently. The materials must be presented to them in an interesting and thoughtprovoking way. Then, they will enthusiastically explore the STM images and Vistapro atomic landscapes and make movies. The lesson plan on the CD will help in developing such a presentation. Development History Vistapro is a three-dimensional graphic editor that creates topographical maps based on Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data from the United States Geological Survey. The user can edit and enhance the landscape in numerous ways and explore it at ground level or from the air. Vistapro has been used in geology, earth science, and astronomy courses to allow students to visualize and explore distant areas of the earth, the surface of the moon, and planets where data are available.
Robert Hamers of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Chemistry was very helpful to the author during the development of Flying over Atoms. Members of his research group, including Harry Chen, Ernie Frank, and Steve Higgins, contributed STM data and images. The introduction to STM included in Flying over Atoms was written by Ernie Frank. John Hinkley, author of Vistapro, wrote a translation utility that allowed translation of RAW STM data into the DEM format that Vistapro requires. The students of Laconia High School, past and present, helped test and work the bugs out of Flying over Atoms. QuickTime movies created by some of these students are included in Flying over Atoms. Ordering and Information Vistapro is a product of Rom Tech, Inc., 2000 Cabot Blvd., Suite 110, Langhorne, PA 19047; phone: 215/7506606; WWW: http://www.romt.com/Products/lifestyle. html. Versions are available for Mac OS, Windows, and DOS. Vistapro can be ordered from the publisher for $69.95 and is also available from many retail software vendors. Journal of Chemical Education Software (often called JCE Software) is a publication of the Journal of Chemical Education. There is an Order Form inserted in this issue that provides prices and other ordering information. If this card is not available or if you need additional information, contact: JCE Software, University of Wisconsin– Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 537061396; phone; 608/262-5153 or 800/991-5534; fax: 608/2658094; email:
[email protected]. Information about all of our publications (abstracts, descriptions, updates) is available from our World Wide Web site:
http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/
Table 1. Hardware and Software Requirements for Flying over Atoms Computer
CPU
RAM
Drives
Graphics
System
Software Included
Software Not Included
Mac OS Compatible
68030 or Power Mac
≥ 16 MB
2 × CD-ROM Hard disk
Color monitor ≥ 256 colors
System 7 or higher
QuickTime Acrobat Reader
Vistapro WWW Browser
Windows Compatible
80386 or higher
≥ 12 MB
2 × CD-ROM Hard disk
Color monitor ≥ 256 colors
Windows 3.x or Windows 95
QuickTime Acrobat Reader
Vistapro WWW Browser
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Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 75 No. 2 February 1998 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
