Watch water form out of thin air

For the first time ever, researchers have witnessed – in real time and at the molecular-scale – hydrogen and oxygen atoms merge to form tiny, nano-sized bubbles of water. The event occurred as part of a new Northwestern University study, during which scientists sought to understand how palladium, a rare metallic element, catalyzes the gaseous reaction to generate water. "Think of Matt Damon's character, Mark Watney, in the movie 'The Martian’,” said Northwestern's Vinayak Dravid, senior author of the study. “He burned rocket fuel to extract hydrogen and then added oxygen from his oxygenator. Our process is analogous, except we bypass the need for fire and other extreme conditions. We simply mixed palladium and gases together." Dravid is the founding director of the Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental (NUANCE) Center, where the study was conducted.