Analytical Chemistry Techniques

At very low temperatures, close to absolute zero, chemical reactions may proceed at a much higher rate than classical chemistry says they should -- because in this extreme chill, quantum effects enter the picture. A Weizmann Institute of Science team has now confirmed this experimentally; their results will not only provide insight into processes in the intriguing quantum world in which particles

act as waves, but they might explain how chemical reactions occur in the vast frigid regions of interstellar space.

Image: The experimental system - two supersonic valves followed by two skimmers. The blue beam passes through a curved magnetic quadrupole guide, and the merged beam (purple) enters a quadrupole mass spectrometer. B is a front view of the quadrupole guide. (Credit: Image courtesy of Weizmann Institute of Science)

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