Scanning tunneling microscope

The invention:

A major advance on the field ion microscope, the
scanning tunneling microscope has pointed toward new directions
in the visualization and control of matter at the atomic
level.


The people behind the invention:

Gerd Binnig (1947- ), a West German physicist who was a
cowinner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
Heinrich Rohrer (1933- ), a Swiss physicist who was a
cowinner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
Ernst Ruska (1906-1988), a West German engineer who was a
cowinner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a Dutch naturalist

Electron microscope

The invention: 

A device for viewing extremely small objects that
uses electron beams and “electron lenses” instead of the light
rays and optical lenses used by ordinary microscopes.

The people behind the invention:

Ernst Ruska (1906-1988), a German engineer, researcher, and
inventor who shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics
Hans Busch (1884-1973), a German physicist
Max Knoll (1897-1969), a German engineer and professor
Louis de Broglie (1892-1987), a French physicist who won the
1929 Nobel Prize in Physics