Positronium Chemistry: Origin, Development, and Historical Roots
Positronium science has for more than half a century been an important research area located somewhere between physics and chemistry. Based upon the study of positrons and the electron-positron atom called positronium, the field was originally part of atomic physics but soon became embraced also by...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Firenze University Press
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Substantia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/subs/article/view/3540 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Positronium science has for more than half a century been an important research area located somewhere between physics and chemistry. Based upon the study of positrons and the electron-positron atom called positronium, the field was originally part of atomic physics but soon became embraced also by the chemists. In this article I present a first preliminary study of the origin and early history of positronium science with an emphasis on its chemical aspects. It includes a so-called prehistory going back a long time before the discovery of the positron, at a time when the ether was sometimes conceived as consisting of pairs of oppositely charged electrons. Apart from positronium, the intertwined history of muonium – where the electrons are replaced by the heavier muons – is also described. More generally, the paper discusses from a historical perspective how various kinds of exotic atoms, antiatoms and superheavy atoms included, have become parts of the chemical sciences.
|
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2532-3997 |