Using moire´ fringe pattern techniques, elastic strains were measured in small gold nuclei (10–40 A in radius) prepared by evaporation in ultrahigh vacuum (10−8Torr) onto MoS2substrates. The variation of the elastic strain with the radius and angle of misalignment of the nuclei was found to be consistent with the theories of van der Merwe, Cabrera, and Jesser and Kuhlmann‐Wilsdorf.