News Release 08-117 - Video
A movie representing a collision between a mildly vibrating deuterium molecule and a hydrogen atom.
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The movie presents a representation of a collision between a molecule of deuterium (D2) and a radical hydrogen atom (white dot). The hydrogen atom approaches the D2 off center, tugging the molecule outwards, and then deflects around the molecule. This depicts the sort of frustrated chemical reactions that are theorized by the "Tug o' War."
Credit: Stuart Greaves, University of Bristol