A super-sized atom plus a cold ion have been combined to make a completely new molecule that is 4 micrometres across and makes extremely long molecular bonds
Chemistry 27 May 2022
Artist’s impression of trapped super-sized atoms
Celina Brandes/University of Stuttgart
A completely new kind of molecule has been made by combining an extremely cold ion and a super-sized atom. The unusual molecular bond between the two particles was thousands of times longer than those in most room-temperature molecules, and the method to make and study it could kick-start a new branch of ultracold quantum chemistry.
Molecules form when atoms or groups of atoms share electrons or stick together because they are caught in each other’s electric fields. Tilman Pfau at the University …