Do you see atoms? An interdisciplinary class on atomic force microscopy and the philosophy of imaging

We describe an interdisciplinary class offered to undergraduate university students of Arts and Sciences, with most participants majoring in philosophy or physics. The class combines learning about the theory of atomic force microscopes (AFMs), using them for gathering data and processing images out of the data in hands-on exercises with (1) understanding important do's and don'ts of image processing and (2) with philosophical reflection on microscopy and image theory guided by philosophers' texts, written between 1690 and 2010, on microscopes, on images and on the suitable-realist or antirealist-interpretation of microscopic images.