Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Emission Spectra

Emission Spectra

When solids, liquids, or condensed gases are heated sufficiently, they radiate some of the excess energy as light. Photons produced in this manner have a range of energies, and thereby produce a continuous spectrum in which an unbroken series of wavelengths is present.

Space-Time Curvature and the General Theory of Relativity

Space-Time Curvature and the General Theory of Relativity

In 1905, Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity. According to this theory, no matter in the universe can attain a speed greater than the speed of light in a vacuum, which thus serves as the speed limit of the universe.
This has been verified in many experiments. However, space and time are no longer absolute. Two observers moving relative to one another do not agree on the length of objects or the passage of time. The mechanics of objects based on Newton's laws of motion,...

The Wave Nature of Light

The Wave Nature of Light

The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.

Conditions on Early Earth

Conditions on Early Earth

Around 4 billion years ago, oceans began to condense on earth while volcanic eruptions released nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen into the primordial atmosphere. However, organisms with the characteristics of life were not initially present on earth. Scientists have used experimentation to determine how organisms evolved that could grow, reproduce, and maintain an internal environment.

Conditions on Early Earth

Conditions on Early Earth

Around 4 billion years ago, oceans began to condense on earth while volcanic eruptions released nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen into the primordial atmosphere. However, organisms with the characteristics of life were not initially present on earth. Scientists have used experimentation to determine how organisms evolved that could grow, reproduce, and maintain an internal environment.

What is Physical Chemistry?

What is Physical Chemistry?

Physical chemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies the principles from physics underlying chemical reactions. It provides deep insights into the behaviors of molecules, the forces they experience, and their interactions and chemical reactions.The term "physical chemistry" was introduced by Mikhail Lomonosov in 1752. Since then, it has seen significant contributions from notable scientists such as Josiah Willard Gibbs, Wilhelm Ostwald, Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff, and Linus Pauling.Key...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Refractory solid condensation detected in an embedded protoplanetary disk.

Nature·2025

Same author

A far-ultraviolet-driven photoevaporation flow observed in a protoplanetary disk.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2024

Same author

Formation of the methyl cation by photochemistry in a protoplanetary disk.

Nature·2023

Same author

Spatially resolved images of reactive ions in the Orion Bar<sup>,★★</sup>.

Astronomy and astrophysics·2017

Same author

H3+ at the interface between astrochemistry and astroparticle physics.

Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences·2012

Same author

Efficacy and tolerability of budesonide aqueous nasal spray in chronic rhinosinusitis patients.

Rhinology·2004

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Conducting Miller-Urey Experiments

Conducting Miller-Urey Experiments

Published on: January 21, 2014

Chemistry and cosmology.

¹Department of Radio and Space Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, SE-43992, Sweden.

Faraday Discussions

|December 29, 2006

Summary

Early universe chemistry, involving hydrogen and helium, influenced cosmic structure. Calculations show H- absorption could distort the cosmic background radiation spectrum, offering a test for cosmological models.

Area of Science:

Cosmology
Astrochemistry

Background:

The early universe's evolution was governed by the chemistry of simple elements like hydrogen and helium.
Theoretical models of cosmic structure formation now integrate this primordial chemistry.
Cosmologists seek observational tests for competing universe models, including early departures from thermodynamic equilibrium.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the observable effects of primordial chemistry on the cosmic background radiation.
To calculate the evolution of chemical abundances in the early universe.
To determine if H- absorption can produce detectable spectral distortions.

Main Methods:

Detailed calculation of the abundance evolution for various hydrogen species (H, H+, H-, H2, H2+, H3+).
Modeling the spectral distortion of the cosmic background radiation caused by continuous absorption from H-.

More Related Videos

Curation of Computational Chemical Libraries Demonstrated with Alpha-Amino Acids

Curation of Computational Chemical Libraries Demonstrated with Alpha-Amino Acids

Published on: April 13, 2022

$Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures$

Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures

Published on: October 7, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Conducting Miller-Urey Experiments

Conducting Miller-Urey Experiments

Published on: January 21, 2014

Curation of Computational Chemical Libraries Demonstrated with Alpha-Amino Acids

Curation of Computational Chemical Libraries Demonstrated with Alpha-Amino Acids

Published on: April 13, 2022

$Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures$

Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures

Published on: October 7, 2013

Main Results:

Continuous absorption by H- can create a spectral distortion in the cosmic background radiation.
The predicted distortion has a maximum at a frequency near nu/c = 9 cm-1 (1.1 mm wavelength).
The predicted distortion is within a factor of 5 of current observational limits.

Conclusions:

The detection of this spectral distortion would serve as a crucial test of our understanding of the universe's recombination epoch.
Primordial chemistry plays a significant role in observable cosmological phenomena.
Further observations could confirm or refute these predictions, refining cosmological models.