Do atoms know they being observed?

In other words, the electron does not “understand” that it is being observed … it is so very tiny that any force that interacts with it such that you can determine its position, will change its behavior, unlike common macroscopic objects which are so very massive that bouncing photons off of them has no discernible …

Can atoms move while being looked at?

The only way the atoms would move was when the scientists turned down the intensity of the laser, or turned it off entirely. Notably, otherwise, the atoms arranged themselves freely into a lattice pattern, just as they would if they were crystallizing.