There is a long story about how observing the movement of protons in water used to be a dream for scientists. However, the Yale University team announced that they managed to track and measure the rapid journey of protons in water using a 9-meter-long mass spectrometer. This measurement once again reminds us that protons possess quantum properties, making their tracking challenging.
In the study, an organic molecule called 4-aminobenzoic acid, which can capture an additional proton from two different points, was used to observe protons in a living environment. According to the press release, these two points can be distinguished easily by the color of light. In the experiment, molecules were attached to six water molecules, and it was discovered that protons could pass from one connection point to another only through this water. Although this finding does not offer an immediately applicable practical solution in daily life, it can pave the way for new discoveries in the field of chemistry.
This approach to observing proton movement in real-time stands out as a step toward a deeper understanding of the interactions between water and organic molecules. Future studies will more clearly demonstrate how this method behaves under different molecular and water density conditions.
