Ultrastrong, ultrafast and local—water induces electric fields at the surface of DNA
Thursday, August 4, 2016 - 08:01
in Physics & Chemistry
The structure and dynamics of the DNA double helix are influenced in a decisive way by the surrounding water shell. New experiments in the ultrafast time domain show that the first two water layers at the DNA surface generate electric fields of up to 100 megavolts/cm which fluctuate on the femtosecond time scale and are limited to a spatial range on the order of 1 nm.