New type of bond predicted around massive stars | Chemistry World - Researchers have described a new type of chemical bond distinct from the two classic modes of atomic bonding – ionic and covalent. The new bonding, predicted by complex quantum mechanical computations, occurs only in hugely powerful magnetic fields – tens of thousands of times greater than can be generated in the laboratory. Such strong magnetic fields are not fanciful, however. They exist in the vicinity of certain types of rotating stars, such as white dwarfs.

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