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Researchers monitor electron behavior during chemical reactions for the first time

In a recent publication in Science, researchers at the University of Paderborn and the Fritz Haber Institute Berlin demonstrated their ability to observe electrons' movements during a chemical reaction. Researchers have long studied the atomic-scale processes that govern chemical reactions, but were never before able to observe electron motions as they happened. Electrons exist on the smallest scales, being less than one quadrillionth of a meter in diameter and orbiting an atom at femtosecond speeds (one quadrillionth of a second). Experimenters interested in observing electron behaviour use laser pulses to interact with the electrons. They can calculate the energy and momentum of the electrons by analysing the properties of the electrons kicked out of the probe by the laser light. The challenge for researchers is recording events that are taking place on a femtosecond scale—they must first excite a system with a laser pulse, then watch the next few femtoseconds. Then, they send a second laser pulse with a short time delay of a few femtoseconds. Achieving this level of resolution is difficult, as femtoseconds are extremely short—light can travel 300,000 kilometers in one second, but just 300 nanometers in one femtosecond.

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LyondellBasell & MSI Technology, LLC Collaborate on Innovative Consumer Packaging

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