Chemists Orchestrate the Molecular Union of Two Single Atoms - podcast episode cover

Chemists Orchestrate the Molecular Union of Two Single Atoms

Apr 27, 20187 min
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Episode description

The main act of Kang-Kuen Ni’s experiment could fit on the tip of a needle—and it happens in a fraction of a second. The Harvard chemist takes two individual atoms, a sodium and a cesium, each about 10,000 times smaller than a bacterium. Then, very carefully, she brings them together to become a single molecule: sodium cesium. It’s an unlikely pairing.

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