The world's smallest 'ruler' can measure down to a mere 0.1 nm—the width of a single atom or as small as TSMC and Intel would like their transistors to be

A detailed macro shot of DNA double helix strands illuminated with blue fluorescent light. The foreground DNA structure is in sharp focus, while the background is blurred, creating a bokeh effect. The image evokes themes of scientific research, genetics, and biotechnology.

Scientists and engineers have multiple ways of measuring the smallest aspects of our world, including scanning tunnelling electron and atomic force microscopes. Now, a team of researchers in Germany have invented a novel method for measuring the distances between molecules to a potential accuracy of just 0.1 nm. That's roughly the size of a single atom and the work should help scientists better understand the behaviour of protein molecules.

The astonishing achievement was reported by New Scientist, though if you want a more in-depth (read: mind-bogglingly complex) explanation of the research, you can always check out the research paper from the Max Plank Institute. Where traditional sub-molecular microscopes rely on the use of electrons, either via a quantum tunnelling or atomic force effect, it's not especially effective if the subject being examined is… well… squishy.