NEW molecule! (the Rydberg molecule synthesized)

[science_spot]

Physics is an amazing scientific field that continues to grow, change, and offer new findings.  Last week it was reported in Nature that a group made a new type of molecule - called the Rydberg molecule.  A Rydberg molecule is made through a bond between a Rydberg atom and another nearby atom.  The Rydberg atom is special because one of its electrons in orbiting quite far from its nucleus.

Back in 1934, Enrico Fermi predicted that if an atom were to come into contact with the lone electron from a Rydberg atom, they could interact.  He did not predict they would actually form a bond.  Fermi won the Nobel Prize for his work on fundamental quantum physics, where he explained the nature of how electron behave and interact with each other.

Albert Eintstein was the first to predict that if a gas were cooled to a super low temperature, all the atoms in that gas would suddenly move to their lowest energy states, and act as if they were frozen (Bose-Einstein condensation).  This prediction was the inspiration for Dr. Chris Greene's idea that using super cold physics, new molecules could be made that won't exist under normal temperature conditions.  Dr. Chris Greene from the University of Colorado was the first to predict a Rydberg atom and another atom could actually bond, under the right conditions.

The scientists working in Vera Bendkowsky's lab at the University of Stuttgart cooled a rhubidium gas cloud to near absolute zero, forcing the atoms to both slow down and become closer together.  A critical distance between atom was reached.  They then excite the atoms to the Rydberg state using a laser.  Once some Rydberg atoms are formed, they interact with other atoms nearby, forming the NEW Rydberg molecule.  This reaction is fast, and short-lived (18 microseconds).  The excitment around this discovery is because ift confirms some long held fundamental physics predictions.

Tonya

AKA sunmoonstars

The Science Spot

 

[PaxMommy]

Apr. 29, 2009 at 11:57 AM

Awesome!

It makes me wonder, if the universe's topography happens to result in infinite expansion, will it eventually 'supercool'?

If so, the physical universe will be quite different! It won't just be cold and dark, new and different molecular structures will form.

Wow. This has opened up a whole new avenue of thinking for me...