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Scientists Probe Mystery Molecule that Reduces Greenhouse Gases
from Scientific American
An international research team has tracked down and measured an elusive molecule that rapidly breaks down pollution in the atmosphere, turning it into clouds that actually help cool the Earth.
The compound is part of a class of molecules called "Criegee biradicals," named after the scientist Rudolf Criegee, who predicted their existence in 1949. The biradicals are intermediates in reactions, meaning they are steppingstones in processes where one compound becomes another.
In this case, they form naturally as ozone--a high-energy oxygen molecule--reacts with carbon chains that have double bonds, forming a compound that has two reactive pairs of electrons. The intermediates have high energies and are unstable, reacting quickly with other molecules, making them difficult to analyze.
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