The movement speed of atoms is highly dependent on the amount of energy they have access to. In laboratory settings, subatomic particles can be accelerated to 99.9999992% of the speed of light, on the other hand, they can be chilled to a state where movement ceases altogether. Until recently, it was assumed that chemistry performed in conditions approaching absolute zero caused atoms to ‘freeze’, hindering their ability to react with other particles. Experimental work by researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) has shown that this is not entirely true. As predicted by Russian physicist Vitaly Efimov and demonstrated experimentally in 2006, at nanokelvin temperatures a condition can exist where two-particle bound states would become unstable, while a few three-particle states could exist. A pair of scientists at JQI have proposed a universal theory to explain these ‘Efimov states’, opening the door for future scientists to study the chemical interactions between three or more particles at ultracold temperatures.
I chose this article because I was interested in learning more about quantum mechanics and how it is being applied in the scientific field today. The studies performed by these scientists at JQI are at the cutting edge of chemistry research and yet, their findings directly correlate with concepts we’ve been introduced to in previous, as well as current chemistry courses.
Submitted by Nathan Throne
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