Animation

UED Bond Breaking

UED Bond Breaking

Animation of a trifluoroiodomethane molecule (carbon shown in black, fluoride in green, iodine in pink) responding to laser light. The light flash stretches the bond between the carbon and iodine atoms to a point where the bond can either break (at right) or stay intact (at left). Since molecules are quantum systems, they actually exist in both states at once.

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To break, or not to break: An unprecedented atomic movie captures the moment when molecules decide how to respond to light.

UED Bond Breaking
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