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IMAGE: An illustration of potassium atoms undergoing changes in fundamental characteristics such as radius, energy and electronegativity as they are compressed by surrounding neon atoms
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Credit: Neuroncollective, Daniel Spacek, Pavel Travnicek
A study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, has yielded new answers to fundamental questions about the relationship between the size of an atom and its other properties, such as electronegativity and energy. The results pave the way for advances in future material development. For the first time, it is now possible under certain conditions to devise exact equations for such relationships.
"Knowledge of the size of atoms and their properties is vital for explaining chemical reactivity, structure and the properties of molecules and materials of all kinds. This is fundamental research that is necessary for us to make important advances," explains Martin Rahm, the main author of the study and research leader from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology.