Re:An experiment suggested by a PhD student may rewrite chem...
by peter_d_sherman on Friday June 26, 2020 @03:26AM
(#23649605)
>"Seeking to further understand the intrinsic properties of metals, Bradforth, McMullen and their colleagues used a trick first noted by chemist Sir Humphry Davy in 1809. In essence, they made a metal from scratch.
The scientists cooled ammonia—normally a gas at room temperature—to minus 33 C to liquify it and then added, in separate experiments, the alkali metals lithium, sodium and potassium.
In these solutions, electrons from the alkali metal initially become trapped in the gaps between ammonia molecules. This creates what scientists call 'solvated electrons,' which are highly reactive but stabilized in the ammonia. These solutions have a characteristic blue color. But given enough solvated electrons, the whole liquid turns bronze and, in essence, becomes a metal while remaining liquid."
The scientists cooled ammonia—normally a gas at room temperature—to minus 33 C to liquify it and then added, in separate experiments, the alkali metals lithium, sodium and potassium.
In these solutions, electrons from the alkali metal initially become trapped in the gaps between ammonia molecules. This creates what scientists call 'solvated electrons,' which are highly reactive but stabilized in the ammonia. These solutions have a characteristic blue color. But given enough solvated electrons, the whole liquid turns bronze and, in essence, becomes a metal while remaining liquid."