Research Article......Standard 2!

So basically the first part of this article started out talking about how hard it is to measure "surface coatings of water".  The reason that water is so hard to measure is water molecules are in constant flux. Professor James Heath from CalTech, and his team, have developed a way to trap those water molecules at room temperature, and it was a complete accident. They were studying graphene on an atomically flat surface of mica and found some nanoscale island-shaped structures trapped between the graphene and the mica that they had not expected to see. Graphene is basically an atomic sized chicken wire shaped lattice of carbon molecules. Heath and his team thought that the bumps might be water, it is everywhere.... After discovering this they decided, being scientists and all, to test it. After varying the humidity in the room, high to low, they observed that the bumps disappeared when humidity was low, and reappeared when the humidity was high. They then realized that the graphene was basically "atomic shrink wrap" once the molecules were trapped they could probe the molecules with an Atomic Force Microscope. Using this method the researchers discovered new details on how water coats ice! What they discovered is that the first layer of water is two molecules thick, and has the structure of Ice. Once that layer is fully formed another layer of two molecule thick ice is added, which is then topped by ice. These newly discovered structures are likely important in determining the surface properties of solids, like: lubrication, adhesion, and corrosion. This technique could later be used to make 3-D images of molecules. This may make it possible to analyze very complex molecules like protien-protein complexes, revealing ever single little nook and cranny. Being able to get pictures of these molecules could prove very important to how molecules are understood.

Water trapped under the Graphene

http://www.futurity.org/science-technology/dead-simple-way-to-see-atomic-structure/