• Question: Hi, what has been the most unusual/unexpected molecule that you have found? Where did it come from?

    Asked by Lori to MG on 10 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Maire Gorman

      Maire Gorman answered on 10 Nov 2015:

      It has to Chromium Hydride! (CrH)

      When I started my PhD I had a meeting with my supervisors who told me I was going to be working on this molecule…..

      I couldn’t remember where the element chromium was in the periodic table! All I knew was its very good for controlling blood sugar-come from family of diabetics 🙁

      The molecule CrH has been found in brown dwarfs(basically “failed stars”-masses which burn deuterium instead of hydrogen in their cores) and can be used to determine the magnetic fields of various stars. Also used to classify Brown dwarfs.

      So its a pretty important molecule in astrophysics!

      Quite surprising really when the element chromium is not that abundant in the universe……

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