Imaging is about communicating. Through images, it is possible to convey information about a subject in an exceedingly efficient manner. We are all familiar with the nightly news reports and how a few visual images can rapidly convey a deep impression far beyond that of the accompanying spoken word. The worlds of art and photography are based on images and their power to invoke a sense of beauty and awe in our minds. Both of these aspects are also important for imaging in materials science, although the beauty and awe we wish to convey concerns our understanding of the behavior of materials or the laws of physics and not the aesthetic appeal itself.

An image can convey an insight into a materials problem which is unrivaled in depth and breadth. In many cases, it can reveal aspects of the problem which were completely unforeseen. An image may even reveal the key to the entire problem and so provide a fundamental advance in our understanding, in contrast to the incremental advances which usually result from more or better data. It is this theme which links the articles in this issue of the MRS BULLETIN. Covering semiconductors to cement, the atomic scale to the macroscopic, the theme in common is the power of the image to unravel the story. Often this involves changing our preconceived ideas on the subject (images provide constant proof that “truth is stranger than fiction”), but this is what major advances in research and development are all about.