They tuned methane molecules to specific quantum states, scattered them off a gold (Au) surface, and measured their states after the collision. The results, published in Science, revealed clear ...

The quantum rules shaping molecular collisions are now coming into focus, offering fresh insights for chemistry and materials science. When molecules collide with surfaces, a complex exchange of ...

The Archaea are single-celled organisms and a domain unto themselves, quite apart from the so called eukaryotes (bacteria and higher organisms). Many species live under extreme conditions, and carry ...

For the first time, chemists have succeeded in plugging a metal atom into a methane gas molecule, thereby creating a new compound that could be a key in opening up new production processes for the ...

Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system and the only one with a dense atmosphere. At the top of this atmosphere, rich in nitrogen and methane, the sun's radiation produces a great ...

You make it, I make it, cows and coal mines emit it. So do termites and multinational oil companies. When NASA looks for life on other planets, they don't look for little green men, they scan for ...

An MIT-led team of researchers has developed an instrument capable of quickly and accurately analyzing samples of methane, pinpointing how they were formed. The breakthrough could give scientists a ...

Methane is a major constituent of natural gas, but its chemical and physical characteristics also make it a powerful greenhouse gas and worrisome contributor to global climate change. A methane ...

The interior of the vacuum chamber during a scattering experiment. The detector is shown in grey (top right) and the Au(111) gold surface is shown in yellow. The lines indicate the path of the ...