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Quantum trembling: Why there are no truly flat molecules
- February 20, 2026 at 3:26 PM
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Traditional chemistry textbooks present a tidy picture: Atoms in molecules occupy fixed positions, connected by rigid rods. A molecule such as formic acid (methanoic acid, HCOOH) is imagined as two-dimensional—flat as a sheet of paper. But quantum physics tells a different story. In reality, nature resists rigidity and forces even the simplest structures into the third dimension.
Originally published at Phys.org