image: Water molecules around an anion. One OH-group of each water molecule points towards the negatively charged ion. Reorientation around the OH-axis leads to a propeller-like motion: semi-rigid hydration. This image relates to an article that appeared in the May 20, 2010, issue of Science Express, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. K.J. Tielrooij at FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues, is titled, "Cooperativity in Ion Hydration." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Amolf/XKP