Really fast motion of a proton in a water molecule.

What is it about?

Experiments with ultrafast laser pulses show that protons within a water molecule can move on timescales of a few femtoseconds. The experimental manifestation of this is the unexpected formation of a hydrogen molecular ion, H2+, from a single water molecule upon its exposure to an intense beam of 5 femtosecond long laser pulses. Results of high-level quantum mechanical computations offer a theoretical rationalization of such ultrafast intra-molecular motion.

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Why is it important?

By using fast enough pulses of intense laser light, it might now be possible create molecular entities that are normally not possible under conventional "weak-field" conditions prevalent in normal "test-tube" chemistry.