Discovery: Molecules Show One-Way Interactions Without Outside Influence, Study Reveals

Have you ever wondered about the interactions between particles? A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Maine and Penn State has revealed that molecules can experience non-reciprocal interactions without external forces.

This discovery challenges the notion that fundamental forces are always reciprocal. In our everyday world, interactions often do not follow the traditional laws of gravity and electromagnetism.

The study sheds light on the essential role that non-reciprocal interactions play in complex behaviors exhibited by living organisms. Even on a microscopic level, such as with bacteria, this mechanism has now been explained without the need for external forces like hydrodynamics, providing new insights for understanding how molecules interact.

Published in Chem, the study details how single molecules can interact non-reciprocally without the influence of other forces, unveiling a different mechanism that explains these interactions.

The researchers involved in the study found a “Eureka moment” when they realized that a catalyst’s kinetic asymmetry actually controls the direction of response to a concentration gradient. This discovery highlights the potential for evolution and adaptation in these interactions.

This new understanding of non-reciprocal interactions is groundbreaking and plays a pivotal role in the development of active matter. Instead of introducing ad hoc forces, as seen in previous research, this new approach provides a fundamental molecular mechanism to explain how these interactions arise.

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