Atomic force microscopy is a well-established technique to image all kinds of surfaces at the atomic scale. But the force patterns that emerge can also pin down the chemical identity of individual atoms. Picking lentils from ashes is one of the many challenging tasks delegated to fairy-tale characters. In a famous story, Cinderella completes this chore assisted by some helpful doves. Sugi-moto et al., in work that appears on page 64 of this issue, tackle a similar, but potentially more useful problem: how to identify a particular element on a surface that contains a mixture of elements using only a mechanical probe.
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