electron

During natural photosynthesis, chlorophyll absorbs light energy and transfers electrons to convert it into chemical energy.

The researchers got another surprise when they looked at the shells under a scanning electron microscope.

Like standard electron microscopy, which shoots beams of electrons at a cell to outline its structure, Watanabe and his team froze mouse neurons to preserve the structures' shape.

When X-rays hit molecules, they can knock electrons out of certain orbitals and into extremely high-energy states, breaking chemical bonds.

"To answer this question, we need to collide electrons not just with individual protons but with nuclei -- the ions of the EIC," Tu said.