Watch the first ever video of a chemical bond breaking and forming

Pay attention to the 2 black atoms of a metal molecule being shot with a beam of electrons, breaking their bond and in the process revealing a transitional state where the atoms are neither fused or completely separated. This is the first time it has been captured on film.

A chemical bond between two metal atoms has been filmed breaking and forming for the first time – something scientists say they only dreamed of seeing. Watching this happen in real time “was absolutely unbelievable”, says Andrei Khlobystov at the University of Nottingham, UK, who led the team that recorded it.

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2230547-watch-the-first-ever-video-of-a-chemical-bond-breaking-and-forming/#ixzz6Bf0Lq9Pi