Question: any mad scientist moments in your career so far

Stephen Rhatigan answered on 14 Nov 2017:

Not really. The closest I got was working with a very good and creative experimentalist. He wanted to use a method called Atomic Force Microscopy to “look at” individual atoms at the surface of a sample.
To do this everything must be cooled to near absolute zero (-273 degrees Celsius) and you need a probe that has a very sharp tip – ideally one atom in diameter.
The experiment is very tricky – probes break all the time and they cost €2000 each. He decided he didn’t want to spend the money so he’d make them himself. He came up with the method and hired me to do the work. It involved glue, heated copper plates, piano wire, gold thread, really strong acid, paraffin wax and very, very steady hands.
The craziest thing was that they worked and when they were used the resolution was good enough to make out individual atoms.