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Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Steering Electrons Along Chemical Bonds

Electron motions induced by a strong electric field are mapped in space and time with the help of femtosecond x-ray pulses. An x-ray movie of the crystal lithium hydride shows that the electric interaction between electrons has a decisive influence on the direction in which they move. An ionic crystal is a regular arrangement of positively and negatively charged ions in space. 

Crystals with rock salt structure. Upper crystal: sodium chloride (NaCl) with blue balls for Na+ ions and green balls for Cl- ions. Lower crystal: lithium hydride (LiH) with small blue balls for Li0.5+ ions and white balls for H0.5- ions. The grey-shaded plane indicates the sectional views. (Credit: MBI)
Credit: http://www.fv-berlin.de