Mock atoms prove attractive: Researchers added first pseudo atoms to electronegativity scale
Friday, January 6, 2012 - 10:31
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- When studying an atom's ability to attract nearby electrons, scientists rely on electronegativity scales, which describe each atom's ability to pull in these negatively charged particles. But what about pseudo-atoms, a.k.a. those molecular fragments that don't change much in various environments and are considered to behave like atoms? Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Heriot-Watt University in Scotland put the tetrahedral ammonium radical, made from a nitrogen atom and four hydrogen atoms, on the electronegativity scale. It has the same attractive force as potassium and has the same size as an atom of rubidium.