FSU’s Igor Alabugin has described an unusual phenomenon in which the energy of an electron is spontaneously increased in the course of a chemical reaction. The research team has dubbed this “electron upconversion,” in which a low-energy, unreactive electron is transformed into a higher energy, much more reactive electron.

“Valuable chemical reactions convert cheap and abundant starting materials (reactants) into more valuable products. Life in the universe and civilization on our planet depend on this simple fact,” Alabugin said. Everything around us was formed via chemical reactions. These reactions sustain our existence and fuel our progress. Our life and death are the consequences of chemical reactions.”

• Igor Alabugin