It was recalled that the invention of the field ion microscope had made it possible to see single metal atoms which were adsorbed on crystals, and to perform diffusion studies of individual adatoms. The genesis of experimental observations of the motion of single adatoms was sketched briefly here, together with some of the significant developments which had taken place during the past 3 decades and had provided a detailed understanding of atomic behavior.

G.Ehrlich: Surface Science, 1994, 299-300, 628-42