 |
| Lafayette College Chapter
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Negative Ions: Efficacious Effluvia
(02/24/2006)
Dr. Wesley Walter
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Denison University
Negative ions are important in a wide variety of physical phenomena, ranging from the atmospheres of stars to plasma etching of semiconductors, yet their properties can be elusive to uncover. They present extremely challenging problems for the theoretical understanding of atomic and molecular structure because the added electron in a negative ion is bound to a neutral core, thus the influence of many-body effects such as electron-electron correlation and core polarization is greatly enhanced relative to neutral species. In this talk, recent achievements with negative ions will be reviewed, including the discovery of surprising new stable ions. We will then discuss our experiments at Denison University into the fascinating effects of a static electric field on negative ions, which creates, in essence, a single-electron dual-beam interferometer. Using laser spectroscopy, we have made definitive measurements of the quantum mechanical processes of tunneling and interference in these rich physical systems. Not only do negative ions provide critical models of highly correlated complexes, but also (as you’ll find out in the talk) they just plain make you feel good!
Room 100, Hugel Science Center, noon.
Back to top | Privacy Policy | Copyright ©2013. All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
