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Physical chemistry

Molecular motion watched

A laser pulse can switch certain crystals from an insulating phase to a highly conducting phase. The ultrafast molecular motions that drive the transition have been directly observed using electron diffraction. See Letter p.343

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Figure 1: Molecular motion of a phase switch.

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Correspondence to Bradley Siwick or Eric Collet.

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Siwick, B., Collet, E. Molecular motion watched. Nature 496, 306–307 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/496306a

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