Custom Chemistry

Harvard researchers are changing the rules of chemistry. Traditionally, chemical compounds are made by mixing atoms together and waiting for a reaction. But it appears that, for the first time, they have been able to make two atoms bond on command by pressing them together.

The method has implications for all sorts of new compounds, but the process is a little more complicated than it sounds, requiring two laser-controlled atoms at ultra-cold temperatures and a third laser to actually bind them together. The resulting molecule – in this case, a combination of sodium and caesium (NaCs) – has some interesting properties. Because caesium is much larger and heavier than sodium, the molecule naturally rotates, making it useful for applications such as quantum computing. If they can be made to rotate fast enough, the molecules could act as tiny bar magnets, creating an asymmetric magnetic field. And when placed near another molecule, each could affect the quantum state of the other without even touching it.

Although the molecular bonds are currently not strong enough for the new molecules to act as quantum-computing qubits, the researchers believe that can be overcome by reducing vibrations in the bonding system.