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Department of Physics
Chemical Physics division
Research news

Research news in the Chemical Physics Division

The schematic of the experiment used to capture the alignment of water molecules by the laser light. By using X-ray lasers, scientists have seen that the water molecules can be aligned for a very short time, forming a liquid crystal. Water molecules that are in a low-density liquid (LDL – blue regions) are easier to align that those in a high density liquid (HDL – yellow regions).

X-rays indicate that water can behave like a liquid crystal

Scientists at Stockholm University have discovered that water can exhibit a similar behavior like a liquid crystal when illuminated with laser light. This effect originates by the alignment of water molecules, which exhibit a mixture of low- and high-density domains that are more or less prone to alignment. Can this discovery have future technological applications?

New results reported in Physics Review Letters

Computer simulation of a merger of two neutron stars

KAW grants awarded to three projects in which researchers from Fysikum are involved

The Knut and Alice Wallenberg fundation has announced 20 ground-breaking research projects to receive grants for a total of 640 million SEK. Among them three projects include several researchers at the Department of Physics as co-investigator.

Read about the projects

European grant for novel sustainable energy supply and storage awarded to Fysikum

An European wide network, involving Markus Kowalewski and Michel Odelius from the Division of Chemical Physics at Fysikum, has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC). The project, which includes partners from 8 different countries, will investigate charge carrier dynamics in materials relevant for novel energy supply and storage.

EC training network grant awarded to Fysikum

I (resonant) inelastisk röntgenspridning induceras molekylrörelse kring enskilda syreatomer i vattnet.
Energiskillnaden mellan inkommande och utgående röntgenljus motsvarar energiexcitationer av kvantiserade vibrationer i vattenmolekylerna. Särskilt höga excitationer av vibrationer i O-H bindningarna ger information of vätebindningarna mellan vattenmolekylerna. Bild Vinicius Vaz da Cruz

En osedvanligt detaljrik inblick i vanligt vatten

Vanligt vatten är en mycket speciell vätska med hög kokpunkt och ytspänning. Dess egenskaper bestäms av hur vattenmolekylerna binder till varandra i så kallade vätebindningar, som även påverkar exempelvis biokemiska processer och molnbildning.

Nya rön kring vätebindningar i flytande vatten

$A schematic of the approach used to capture water dynamics on the ultrafast timescale. If one were able to photograph the molecules in real space with different exposure times, the image would become gradually blurry because of the motion of the molecules. This is done with x-ray scattering in the so-called reciprocal space, where the diffraction pattern is gradually smoother for longer pulse durations. (Image credits: Fivos Perakis/Stockholm University)$

Vattens ultrasnabba dans

Det anses att vattenmolekyler i flytande tillstånd rör sig slumpmässigt på korta tidsskalor på grund av termiska fluktuationer. Forskare vid Stockholms universitet har nu upptäckt en oväntad korrelerad rörelse i vattendynamik på en tidsskala av 100-tals femtosekunder.

Röntgenlaser för att fotografera vattenmolekylers dans

Contact

Division of Chemical Physics,
Head of division

Richard Thomas
Room C4:3053
Tel: +46 (0)8 553 787 84
E-mail: rdt@fysik.su.se