Electrons in a Helium Atom (IMAGE)
Caption
Electronic pas de deux: physicists in Heidelberg have filmed the pulsing motion of the electron pair in a helium atom. At 15.3 femtoseconds (fs) the two electrons are close to the nucleus (center of image) and then move away from it. The color indicates the probability of finding one electron at position A (vertical axis) and the second electron at position B (horizontal axis) on a line drawn through the atom (along the polarization direction of the laser). At 16.3 femtoseconds they arrive back at their original position again; they thus move with a beat of around one femtosecond.
Credit
MPI for Nuclear Physics
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