This animation is based on the Atomium which was designed by Andre Waterkeyn and built in 1958 as part of the Universal Exhibition in Brussels. The monument is 102 metres high and gives a panoramic view of Brussels from the restaurant in the topmost sphere. The Atomium symbolises the structure of matter and represents a cell of a body centred cubic iron crystal.

The picture above was made by IBM. It shows an atomic corral. 48 iron atoms forming an enclosure of 0.01 microns in radius on a copper surface. The atoms were moved into position with a scanning tunnelling microscope: an example of design on the atomic scale.
Image reproduced by permission of IBM Research, Almaden Research Centre. Unauthorised use not permitted.