A key objective of ongoing research rooted in molecular physics is to understand and precisely control chemical reactions at very low temperatures. At low temperatures, the chemical reactions between ...

When we think of ions, we usually think of single atoms that have lost or gained some electrons, but entire molecules can also become ions. Physicists now show that cold molecular ions can be created ...

After a decades-long search, astronomers have finally found the very first molecule to ever form in the universe. The helium hydride ion (HeH+) has long been a key theoretical part of how the ...

Making a connection: An artist's impression of a Rydberg atom bonded to an ion. (Courtesy: Danyel Cavazos) A novel type of molecule that is longer than some kinds of bacteria has been detected by ...

Quantum mechanics is extremely successful at describing the behavior of matter at the atomic level. This success forces one to accept that certain aspects of physical reality go far beyond our ...

This technique is significant in the development of advanced materials, particularly for applications in microelectronics, nanotechnology, optoelectronics, and renewable energy technologies. The ...

Every thought, every movement, every heartbeat is controlled by lightning-quick electrical impulses in the brain, the muscles, and the heart. But too much electrical excitability in the membranes of ...

Perovskites are semiconducting materials that have rapidly transformed the field of optoelectronics, demonstrating ...

In the dreams of battery makers, someone gets sodium-ion chemistry to work properly, and lithium it gets replaced with a cheaper more capacious metal. In the real world, sodium ions destroy the ...

Researchers have discovered how an ion channel in the brain’s neurons has a kind of ‘molecular memory’, which contributes to the formation and preservation of lifelong memories. The researchers have ...

A completely new kind of molecule has been made by combining an extremely cold ion and a super-sized atom. The unusual molecular bond between the two particles was thousands of times longer than those ...