Already Weird Atoms Get Stranger, May Hold Ability to Bond with 'Nothing'

[Judi Lynn]

By Yasemin Saplakoglu, Staff Writer | September 20, 2018 06:51am ET

Getting upset over nothing? Well, you're not being ridiculous: Some atoms may form actual bonds with "nothing."

While a typical chemical bond requires two entities, there is one kind of atom that may be able to bond to "ghost" atoms or those that don't exist, according to a new paper published Sept. 12 in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Just as our solar system's planets orbit around the sun, electrons orbit around an atom's nucleus. The farther out their orbit is, the higher the electron's energy. But with an energy boost, electrons can often hop orbits — and some go the distance.

Rydberg atoms have one electron that jumps to a distant orbit, far away from the nucleus. "Basically, any atom in the periodic table can become a Rydberg atom," senior author Chris Greene, a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at Purdue University, told Live Science. All that's needed is to shine a laser on an atom, giving its electrons a bit of energy. [Wacky Physics: The Coolest Little Particles in Nature]

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https://www.livescience.com/63629-atom-trilobite-bond-ghost.html?utm_source=notification

[thbobby]

1. Quantum theory is mind boggling

Trying to understand subatomic mechanisms, where common sense is useless, is an awesome human achievement. Trying to wrap my mind around the quantum world is so humbling.