Anisotropic X-Ray Scattering of Transiently Oriented Water
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Kyung Hwan Kim1,2, Alexander Späh1, Harshad Pathak1
1Department of Physics, AlbaNova University Center, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
We study the structural dynamics of liquid water by time-resolved anisotropic x-ray scattering under the optical Kerr effect condition. In this way, we can separate the anisotropic scattering decay of 160 fs from the delayed temperature increase of ∼0.1 K occurring at 1 ps and quantify transient changes in the O-O pair distribution function. Polarizable molecular dynamics simulations reproduce well the experiment, indicating transient alignment of molecules along the electric field, which shortens the nearest-neighbor distances. In addition, analysis of the simulated water local structure provides evidence that two hypothesized fluctuating water configurations exhibit different polarizability.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples
According to Bragg's law, when X-rays strike the sample positioned on a stage, the rays are scattered by the electron clouds around the sample atoms. The X-ray diffraction or scattering is caused by constructive interference of the X-ray waves that reflect off the internal...
Intermolecular Forces

