Positronium hydride

Positronium hydride,is a molecule consisting of an atom of positronium, and one of hydrogen. Its formula is PsH. It was predicted to exist in 1951 by A Ore,^[1] and subsequently studied theoretically, but was not observed until 1990. R. Pareja, R. Gonzalez from Madrid trapped positronium in hydrogen laden magnesia crystals. The trap was prepared by Yok Chen from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.^[2] In 1992 it was created in an experiment done by David M. Schrader and F.M. Jacobsen and others at the Marquette University in Denmark. The researchers made the positronium hydride molecules by firing intense bursts of positrons into methane, which has the highest density of hydrogen atoms. Upon slowing down, the positrons were captured by ordinary electrons to form positronium atoms which then reacted with hydrogen atoms from the methane.^[3]

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PsH is constructed from one proton, two electrons, and one positron. The binding energy is 1.1±0.2 eV. The lifetime of the molecule is 0.5 nanoseconds.

See also

di-positronium

References

External links