Latest Superatom Stories

An international team of researchers has discovered a new class of magnetic superhalogens "“ a class of atomic clusters able to exhibit unusual stability at a specific size and composition, which may be used to advance materials science by allowing scientists to create a new class of salts with magnetic and super-oxidizing properties not previously found.The discovery, which was published Feb. 10 in the Early View issue of the international chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International...

Research gives new perspective on periodic tableTransforming lead into gold is an impossible feat, but a similar type of "alchemy" is not only possible, but cost-effective too. Three Penn State researchers have shown that certain combinations of elemental atoms have electronic signatures that mimic the electronic signatures of other elements. According to the team's leader A. Welford Castleman Jr., Eberly Distinguished Chair in Science and Evan Pugh Professor in the Departments of...

U.S. scientists have discovered a magnetic superatom that might one day be used to create molecular electronic devices for future computers. Virginia Commonwealth University researchers said the superatom consists of a stable cluster of atoms that can mimic different elements of the periodic table. The cluster, consisting of one vanadium and eight cesium atoms, acts as a tiny magnet that can mimic a single manganese atom in magnetic strength, while preferentially allowing electrons of...

A team of Virginia Commonwealth University scientists has discovered a "˜magnetic superatom' "“ a stable cluster of atoms that can mimic different elements of the periodic table "“ that one day may be used to create molecular electronic devices for the next generation of faster computers with larger memory storage.The newly discovered cluster, consisting of one vanadium and eight cesium atoms, acts like a tiny magnet that can mimic a single manganese atom in magnetic strength while...