Article Analysis Essay on Chemistry Current Event

Introduction

Chemistry is a very dynamic field of science with quite a number of studies focusing on different areas within the subject. Although several findings have been made in the past, more discoveries in chemistry as are still being reported. This paper describes a discovery in chemistry, as stated in an article by Hornigold (2018) and which reports the isolation of an exotic state of matter.

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Isolation of Exotic State of Matter

It has been known for a long time that a better portion of an atom is made empty space and this was proved by Rutherford gold-foil experiment. The other components of an atom include protons and neutrons located within the nucleus and the electrons that surround the nucleus. It is this empty space in an atom that has been of great interest to most scientists (Hornigold, 2018). Notably, there have been questions about the consequences of filing up these atomic spaces with something else. Previous attempts to fill up this space have all failed but this was achieved for the first time through the exotic isolation process. The process involved creation of a Rydberg atom which is characterized by a significant increase in the radius of electron orbital from the nucleus. Scientists adjusted the orbital radius and then filled the atomic spaces with other atoms. These atoms introduced successfully formed bonds with each other, although these bonds were weak. Therefore, the process led to the formation of a new exotic state of matter. Scientist referred to this new state as Rydberg polarons. This experiment was conducted under special conditions which included the atom being subjected to a temperature close to absolute zero. At this temperature, matter transforms into a substance known as Bose-Einstein condensate. Remarkably, two states of matter were involved in the experiment and this is the reason why the experiment is referred to as exotic.

According to Hornigold (2018), a Rydberg atom is an atom which has a single electron being exited into the highest achievable energy level so that the electron can orbit at the furthest atomic radius. The first procedure in this experiment was creating Bose-Einstein condensate by cooling strontium atoms to a temperature close to absolute zero. After this, the atom was subjected to laser rays which supplied the energy that transformed the atom into a Rydberg atom. At Rydberg state, the radius of the electron orbital is so large that several other atoms can be introduced into the orbitals of the strontium atom. Interestingly, the introduced atom did not have any big impact on the orbital since the atoms by nature are electrically neutral and so do not exert any significant electrostatic force on the electrons. Unfortunately, the bonds formed were so weak that they tended to reduce the total energy within the system to a significantly lower level compared to that of a Bose-Einstein condensate that has no introduced atoms. The net result was that the atoms became weakly bonded to each other and consequently formed an unusual atom. Such uncommon atoms are important because by studying them, scientists can accurately determine the lifetime of a metastable state which provides a better understanding of a standard model of an atom.

Conclusion

Achieving an exotic state of matter involves subjecting an atom to extremely cold conditions. Under such conditions, some properties of an atom can be altered such as that witnessed in the experiment, thereby creating room for further important discoveries in chemistry. However, this experiment was carried out for the first time and hence the need for more research in order to get conclusive ideas.

Reference

Hornigold, T. (2018, February 26). Exotic State of Matter Isolated For the First Time. Retrieved from https://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=36085. [Accessed: 2018, March 19]