A team of researchers led by physical chemist Kiyoshi Ueda of Tohoku University used a free electron laser (FEL) at Japan's SPring - 8 Compact SASE Source test accelerator to investigate how electrons are «knocked out» of neon atom clusters. (sciencedaily.com)
When a pulse of such extreme radiation hits neon atoms, all 10 electrons boil off each atom, and the denuded nuclei explode away from their similarly ionized neighbors. (scientificamerican.com)
The team tested what would happen when they set the photon energy of the FEL light below the work function of clusters of neon atoms. (sciencedaily.com)