The Interplay of Dancing Electrons

Negatively charged ions have a big impact on everything around us. Finally Scientists from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden have discovered how to analyze “how the electrons in negative ions interact in, which is important in, for example, superconductors and in radiocarbon dating.”

Anton Lindahl of the Department of Physics at the University of Gothenburg. said "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,"

  

A higher understanding of negative ions can get us a much better knowledge of our origins. The reason why is because negative ions have an important impact in chemical reactions anywhere in space, since it is very important in those procedures like forming molecules from atoms. The molecules have given us much information about our origins.  

"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 states investigations where he used laser spectroscopy to understand how the electrons interact with each other.

"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."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111129092024.htm