‘Electric Prism’ Separates Water’s Nuclear Spin States
Using an "electric prism", scientists have found a
new way of separating water molecules that differ only in their nuclear spin
states and, under normal conditions, do not part ways. Since water is such a
fundamental molecule in the universe, the recent study may impact a multitude
of research areas ranging from biology to astrophysics. The research team from
the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) – a collaboration of DESY,
the Max Planck Society and Universität Hamburg – reported its results in the
journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.