A new study shows a novel form of interference in the scattering of methane molecules from a metal surface. (IMAGE)
Caption
Almost 100 years after physicists Clint Davisson and Lester Germer at Western Electric first announced their observation of interference effects associated with the wave nature of the electron (1927), a new study shows a novel form of interference in the scattering of methane molecules from a metal surface. Whereas in Davisson and Germer’s experiment the effects of interference appear in the form of preferred angles of scattering, the interference effects observed in this study, which relate to the methane molecules’ rotational and vibrational motion, appear in the form of preferred absorption of specific wavelengths of light by the scattered molecules.
Credit
Christopher Reilly (EPFL)
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