Ion armageddon: Measuring the impact energy of highly charged ions

Much like a meteor impacting a planet, highly charged ions hit really hard and can do a lot of damage, albeit on a much smaller scale. And much like geologists determine the size and speed of the meteor by looking at the hole it left, physicists can learn a lot about a highly charged ion's energy by looking at the divots it makes in thin films. Researchers have now measured the energy of highly charged ion impacts on a thin film surface for the first time in detail.

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