Crystal Lattice (IMAGE) Forschungsverbund Berlin Caption This is a crystal lattice of ferroelectric ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4] with tilted ammonium (NH4+) tetrahedra (nitrogen: blue, hydrogen: white) and sulfate (SO42-) tetrahedra (sulfur: yellow, oxygen: red). The green arrow shows the direction of macroscopic polarization P. Blue arrows: local dipoles between sulphur and oxygen atoms. The electron density maps shown in the bottom left panel, in Fig. 2, and the movie are taken in the plane shown in grey. Bottom left: Stationary electron density of sulfur and oxygen atoms, displaying high values on the sulfur (red) and smaller values on the oxygens (yellow). Bottom right: Change of local dipoles at a delay time of 2.8 picoseconds (ps) after excitation of the ammonium sulfate crystallites. An anisotropic shift of charge reduces the dipole pointing to the right and increases the other 3 dipoles. Credit MBI Berlin Usage Restrictions The image may only be used with appropriate caption and credit. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.