Direct Observation Of Chemical Reactions

Mouth of Sauron writes "I saw on C|net that researchers with IBM have devised a way to directly observe chemical reactions as they occur in a liquid with an electron microscope. Frances Ross of IBM was awarded the Burton Medal by the Microscopy Society of America. Researchers say this could lead to a better understanding of chemical reactions and could have impact far beyond the computer industry."

Comments

This is still slow.

[Snags]

Even this "high speed" 30 fps is still too slow to actually watch an individual chemical reaction. The amount of time it takes for a copper atom to bond to the electrode, once it gets there, should be much less than a microsecond. Most of the time in "slow" reactions is waiting for the next reactant to come along. At room temperature, a copper atom in a liquid moves at about 340 m/s = 760 MPH!

You can watch a cluster grow, though. So, they can watch where the first atom deposits, then the second, etc. Determining where and how a metal cluster forms is important. But catching an atom in the act of bonding would be quite difficult.