Chemical Bond Discovered That Only Exists In Space By Nicola Guttridge

Perpendicular Paramagnetic Bonding In chemistry, bonds are lasting attraction between atoms that enables the formation of chemical compounds. The bond may result from the electrostatic force of attraction between atoms with opposite charges to form what is known as ionic bonds, or through the sharing of electrons to form a different bond known as covalent. These are the two well-known bonds that every chemistry class educates on.

Despite such typical lesson plans, in the article “Chemical Bond Discovered That Only Exists in Space” by Nicola Guttridge, new findings are being reported that may soon require teachers to expand upon their explanations of chemical bonds. Researchers recently found a new bond that appears to occur only in the presence of very strong magnetic fields. Intriguingly so, these so called strong magnetic fields are linked to ultra-dense white dwarf stars found in space. White dwarfs are the remnant cores of low-mass stars that have exhausted all their hydrogen fuel and are approaching the final state in the process known as stellar evolution. Additionally, while the mass of a white dwarf is often comparable to that of our sun, they are incredibly dense and exhibit unbelievably strong magnetic fields. According to Guttridge (2012), the pull from the

Guttridge reports electrons in bonds normally pair up in couples of opposing spins because of the Pauli exclusion principle which states two cannot occupy the same quantum state simultaneously. Yet, due to the intense magnetic field of a white dwarf, the spins of both electrons align with the external field, forcing one of the electrons to move into a different position known as an anti-bonding orbital. Before this discovery, a scientist would typically be inclined to say this alignment would end any chemical bonds. This is because when anti-bonding orbitals are occupied by electrons, the atoms are no longer bound together and the molecule tends to break