This research is working with
actual electrons and negative ions in a vacuum.
This will be worth following because I suspect that a lot of new physics
is awaiting us in this approach.
I presume they have a decent
model to work with and it will be interesting to see how it survives. This is very interesting work just at the
beginning.
It is too bad we cannot actually
fix an electron in place and measure the surrounding field. That is sure to wreak the models.
The interplay of dancing electrons
by Staff Writers
A negative ion is an atom that has captured an extra electron, giving
it a negative charge. Negative ions are formed, for example, when salt
dissolves in water.
Negative ions play an important role in everything from how our bodies
function to the structure of the universe. Scientists from the University
of Gothenburg, Sweden, have now developed a new method that makes it possible
to study
how the electrons in negative ions interact in, which is important in,
for example,
superconductors and in radiocarbon dating.
"By studying atoms with a negative charge, 'negative ions', we can
learn how electrons coordinate their motion in what can be compared to a
tightly choreographed dance.
Such knowledge is important in understanding phenomena in which the
interaction between electrons is important, such as in superconductors",
says Anton Lindahl of the Department of Physics at the University of
Gothenburg.
A negative ion is an atom that has captured an extra electron, giving
it a negative charge. Negative ions are formed, for example, when salt
dissolves in water.
We have many different types of negative ion in our bodies of which the
most common is chloride ions. These are important in the fluid balance of the
cells and the function of nervous system,
among other processes.
Increased knowledge about negative ions may lead to a better
understanding of our origin.
This is because negative ions play an important role in the chemical
reactions that take place in space, being highly significant in such
processes as the formation of molecules from free atoms. These molecules may
have been important building blocks in the origin of life.
"I have worked with ions in a vacuum, not in water as in the body.
In order to be able to study the properties of individual ions, we isolate them
in a vacuum chamber at
extremely low pressure. This pressure is even lower than the pressure outside
of the International Space Station, ISS."
Anton Lindahl's doctoral thesis describes studies in which he used
laser spectroscopy to study how the electrons in negative ions interact.
"In order to be able to carry out these studies, I have had to
develop measurement methods and build experimental equipment. The measurements
that the new equipment makes possible will increase our understanding of the
dance-like interplay."
The new measurement methods that Anton has developed are important
in a number of applications. One example is the measurement of trace substances
in a technique known as 'accelerator mass spectrometry' or AMS.
The technology and knowledge from Gothenburg are being used in a collaborative
project between scientists in Gothenburg, Vienna
(Austria ) and Oak Ridge (USA
Another application is measurements on ice cores drilled from polar
ice, which can be used to investigate the climate hundreds of thousands of
years into the past.
The thesis Two-Electron Excitations in Negative Ions has be
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