First movie of tumbling molecule reveals its quantum nature

An image showing the different stages of the molecule's periodic rotation repeat after about 82 picoseconds

Source: © DESY, Evangelos Karamatskos/Britta Liebaug

Rotating rod-shaped molecule’s wavefunction recorded in 651 images

Using 651 snapshots recorded within less than 100 trillionths of a second, scientists have created the first film of a rotating carbonyl sulfide molecule. The movie gives a glimpse of the atomic world’s quantum nature as the molecule’s wavefunction forms geometric patterns that look quite different to its straight rod shape.