# A 10 Googleplex pixel camera

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-googleplex-pixel-camera/381719>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 25, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-googleplex-pixel-camera/381719 "2006-11-25T03:52:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sager5720](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/edb3f5/32.png) [@sager5720](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sager5720)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-googleplex-pixel-camera/381719/1 "2006-11-25T03:52:50Z")

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How good would a digital camera need to be to be able to zoom in far enough to see atoms? assume that the shutter speed is equally as fast. how fast would the shutter need to be to be able to see electrons without being a blur? Would it be possible to see strings?

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-googleplex-pixel-camera/381719/2 "2006-11-25T04:09:08Z")

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Regardless of your magic imaging chip resolution, visible light is not going to be able to resolve atomic scale detail. Unless this magic imaging chip is sensitive to the frequency of wavelengths able to resolve this level of detail you’re wasting time.

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-googleplex-pixel-camera/381719/3 "2006-11-25T04:09:11Z")

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A “camera” in the usual sense cannot see individual atoms. It can only see things larger than the wavelength of light it is sensitive to. Which is why electron microscopes are used for looking at very small things. But even electron microscopes can only see things larger than, well, electrons.

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**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-googleplex-pixel-camera/381719/4 "2006-11-25T14:21:35Z")

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Before the trademark police show up, you’re looking for a _googolplex_.

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-10-googleplex-pixel-camera/381719/5 "2006-11-25T16:30:21Z")

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Handy interactive applet

[Digital Camera Resolution Requirements for Optical Microscopy](http://www.microscopyu.com/tutorials/java/digitalimaging/pixelcalculator/index.html)