This is pretty cool... some physicists from the Ukraine managed to take images of the electron cloud around a carbon atom. It matches quantum mechanical predictions, of course, but it's still pretty freakin' hawt.



http://insidescience.org/research/first ... s_of_atoms

fascinating yet so beyond me.

Thanks but ill stick to my piety

really? I think electron clouds are covered in high school chemistry.

High schools are overrated.

heh...considering how poorly they're rated in the US, that's pretty sad.

Cool, let's start talking about orbitals

I used to know that stuff, back in high school. I don't even remember the order of how many electron pairs per shell any more. I know it starts at 2, then....6? I can't recall. I do remember some of the neat stuff like hydrogen bonding.

O'cram can prolly bring you up to date on the "bonding"

Love how O'Cram has evolved into an urban legend of porn matrix so fast.

And I love the idea of pictures of atoms. I'm more interested in theoretical and quantum physics though - more 'wiggle room' for a lit major like me. I often notice that some classically trained physists dislike those disciplines because they're too fluffy, vague and abstract. And guess who's good at that shit?

lol...they may be abstract, but they're still mathematically demanding. heh... almost typed methamatically. Totally different meaning all of a sudden.

"I'm studying methamatics."

Would that be mathematics applied to the meth production business? If so, sign me up!!

either that or mathematics while all methed up. Kinda like Bistromatics in HHGTHG