Can One 'Pin Down' Electrons?
Monday, May 19, 2008 - 00:14
in Astronomy & Space
Experiments by physicists end a long-lasting dispute with an answer that apparently satisfies everyone. When atoms form molecules, they share their outer electrons and this creates a negatively charged cloud. Here, electrons buzz around between the two positively charged nuclei, making it impossible to tell which nucleus they belong to. They are delocalized. But is this also true for the electrons located closer to the nucleus?