Special relativity can warp chemical bonds – now we've seen it happen ^9.4%

New Scientist - By #author.fullName}, Karmela Padavic-Callaghan - 7/9/2026, 6:00 PM

Optimism Bias 19.5% - Appeal to Authority 12.1% - Slippery Slope 11.8%

In some heavy atoms, like those of bismuth (pictured in crystalline form), electrons move at relativistic speeds savva_25/Shutterstock Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity can reshape chemical bonds within molecules, and researchers have just seen it happen for the first time. more