Seeing phenomena in flatland: studies of monolayers by fluorescence microscopy.

Monolayers formed at the interface between air and water can be seen with fluorescence microscopy. This allows the phase behavior of these monolayers to be determined by direct observation and opens up the possibility of following the kinetics of phase transformations in two-dimensional systems. Some unexpected morphologies have been discovered that provide information about the nature of monolayer phases and have connections to pattern formation in other systems.