Physicists use Lasers to Capture First Snapshots of Rapid Chemical Bonds Breaking (IMAGE)
Caption
An intense laser, represented in red, is used to affect an acetylene molecule -- composed of two hydrogen atoms, represented as white balls, and two carbon atoms, represented as black balls -- to strip out an electron and initiate the break up of the molecule. After nine femtoseconds, the laser drives the free electron back to the elongated molecule to create an image. Kansas State University researchers were able to decode the image and create the first real-time observation of a molecule breaking up.
Credit
ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences and Scixel
Usage Restrictions
None
License
Licensed content