A Great Experiment Nears.

Baltic Dry Index. 1169 +21 Brent Crude 46.60

Spot Gold 1828

Coronavirus Cases 24/11/20 World 59,516,010

Deaths 1,402,042

“See now the power of truth; the same experiment which at first glance seemed to show one thing, when more carefully examined, assures us of the contrary.”

Galileo Galilei , Discorsi E Dimostrazioni Matematiche: Intorno a Due Nuoue Scienze, Attenenti Alla Mecanica & I Movimenti Locali

As usual, the “markets” are busy counting their chickens before they’re hatched, crossing bridges before they’ve come to them, and salivating over Tesla getting added to the S&P next month, guaranteeing massive year-end profits and bonuses.

Ignored for now that the world is just about to embark on the biggest unknown human experiment ever recklessly undertaken on humanity. 

We are proposing, starting next month, to start vaccinating millions, if not hundreds of millions of human guinea pigs, with Sars-CoV-2 vaccines that haven’t had long term safety testing, neither in animals nor humans.

Hopefully, that won’t blow up in everyone’s faces, but when humans play God it all too often ends in unintended consequences. 

But that’s an update for another day, probably a weekend special edition.

Below, what’s not to like? What could possibly go wrong?

Brent hits highest since March, spurred by coronavirus vaccine hopes

November 24, 2020  1:53 AM  By Jessica Jaganathan

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude prices hit their highest levels since March as news of a third promising vaccine candidate spurred hopes of a quick recovery in oil demand, while U.S. President-elect Joe Biden received the go-ahead to begin his presidential transition.

Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.7%, to $46.40 a barrel by 0323 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude added 38 cents, or 0.9%, to $43.43 a barrel.

Brent crude oil rose to a session high of $46.56 earlier, the highest level traded since early March before Saudi Arabia initiated a price war with Russia, which sent oil prices crashing. Both oil benchmarks settled up about 2% on Monday after gaining about 5% last week.

“Progress on developing and distributing a vaccine de-risks the path back to normal for oil markets,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at financial services firm Axi.

---- AstraZeneca said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine was 70% effective in pivotal trials and could be up to 90% effective, giving the world’s fight against the global pandemic a third new weapon that can be cheaper to make, easier to distribute and faster to scale-up than rivals.

This follows positive trial results from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

Also appeasing uncertainty in financial markets, President Donald Trump on Monday allowed officials to proceed with a transition to President-elect Joe Biden, giving his rival access to briefings and funding even as he vowed to persist with efforts to fight the election results.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil/brent-hits-highest-since-march-spurred-by-coronavirus-vaccine-hopes-idUKKBN28405X?il=0

Back in the real global economy, real rising distress. Europe’s economy is rolling over again.  China seems to be out of the bond bailout business. Japan’s flirting with deflation yet again. Final Brexit is 37 days away with the rump-EU deep in a muddle about whether it wants a UK trade deal.

Euro zone business activity shrink sharply in November as lockdowns bite: Reuters/Ipsos poll

November 23, 2020  9:11 AM  By Reuters Staff

LONDON (Reuters) - Euro zone business activity has contracted sharply this month as renewed restrictions to try to quell the spread of the coronavirus forced many firms in the bloc’s dominant service industry to close temporarily, a survey showed on Monday. With demand drying up despite price cuts and backlogs of work being run down, firms reduced headcount for a ninth month. The services employment index fell to 48.1 from 48.5.

The bloc’s economy is on track for its first double-dip recession in nearly a decade, a Reuters poll suggested last week, and Monday’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) backed up that finding. [ECILT/EU]

IHS Markit’s flash composite PMI, seen as a good guide to economic health, fell to 45.1 in November from October’s 50.0 - the exact level separating growth from contraction. A Reuters poll had predicted a shallower dip to 46.1.

“The euro zone economy has plunged back into a severe decline in November amid renewed efforts to quash the rising tide of COVID-19 infections,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.

“The data add to the likelihood that the euro area will see GDP contract again in the fourth quarter.”

A PMI covering the service industry fell to 41.3 from 46.9, its weakest reading since the height of the first wave of the pandemic and well below the 42.5 predicted in a Reuters poll.

With demand drying up despite price cuts and backlogs of work being run down, firms reduced headcount for a ninth month. The services employment index fell to 48.1 from 48.5.

However, manufacturing has fared better as many factories have remained open and its flash PMI held well above the breakeven mark at 53.6 in November, albeit below October’s 54.8. The Reuters poll had predicted 53.1.

An index measuring output, which feeds into the composite PMI, fell to 55.5 from 58.4. Demand also eased - the new orders index sank to 54.0 from 58.7 - indicating the downward trend may continue.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-pmi/euro-zone-business-activity-shrink-sharply-in-november-as-lockdowns-bite-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUKKBN2830UX?il=0

Euro zone corporate vulnerability at levels seen in debt crisis: ECB

November 23, 2020  9:11 AM

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Euro zone firms are increasingly vulnerable amid a pandemic-induced recession but public support, including cheap cash from the European Central Bank, have limited the damage so far, a new ECB report showed on Monday.

“Corporate vulnerabilities have increased to levels last observed at the peak of the euro area sovereign debt crisis, but remain below levels reached in the aftermath of the global financial crisis,” the ECB said a stability report article.

Having bought over 20 billion euros worth of corporate debt this year in an emergency bond purchase scheme, the ECB has been a cornerstone in providing funding to companies.

But the new downturn could lead to rating downgrades, which could make it harder for the ECB to chip in as it can only buy investment-grade corporate debt.

The unresolved issues for companies are falling sales, lower actual and expected profitability, and an increase in leverage and indebtedness, the ECB added.

“Government loan guarantees and bankruptcy moratoria have prevented a large-scale wave of ... defaults, but a sizeable number of firms could be forced to file for bankruptcy if these measures are lifted too early or bank lending conditions tighten,” the ECB said.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-corpbonds/euro-zone-corporate-vulnerability-at-levels-seen-in-debt-crisis-ecb-idUKKBN2830VB?il=0

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 13,554 - RKI

November 24, 2020 4:26 AM

BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 13,554 to 942,687, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday. The reported death toll rose by 249 to 14,361, the tally showed.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-germany-cases/germanys-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-rise-by-13554-rki-idUKKBN2840BJ?il=0

These AAA-Rated Bonds Are Tumbling as China Default Fears Spread

Bloomberg News

November 23, 2020, 8:00 PM GMT Updated on November 24, 2020, 12:52 AM GMT

Jizhong Energy, Tianjin TEDA among hardest-hit state firms 

        Such SOE’s debt has risen faster than profits: Pacific Sec.

A string of defaults by Chinese state-owned companies has sent shockwaves across the world’s second-largest credit market.

But some bonds have fared much worse than others as investors clamber to avoid the next potential blowup. Among the most notable losers: notes issued by Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining Co., Jizhong Energy Group Co., Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co. and Yunnan Health & Culture Tourism Holding Group.

While none of the companies have missed debt payments, and all four are rated AAA by Chinese domestic ratings firms, their bonds have tumbled by at least 14% since Nov. 10. That’s when a surprise default by a state-owned Chinese coal producer cast fresh doubt on the implicit guarantees that have long underpinned government-backed borrowers.

“Most of the onshore bonds hit hardest this time share a common symptom: their profitability has lagged far behind their debt growth,” said Li Yunfei, credit analyst at Pacific Securities Co. “Repricing of some onshore bonds, though it occurred abruptly and quickly, is a rational outcome of the recent defaults.”

Pingdingshan Tianan Coal said in a written reply to Bloomberg News that the company was aware of declines in some of its bonds, but declined to comment further. An official in charge of information disclosure from Yunnan Health & Culture Tourism didn’t answer calls or respond to an an email seeking comment.

An official in charge of Tianjin Teda Investment’s bond issuance department declined to comment when reached by phone. Multiple calls made to Jizhong Energy’s general line were not answered.

Here’s why some investors are worried:

More

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-23/these-aaa-rated-chinese-bonds-are-tumbling-as-default-fears-grow

World Economy Risks Buckling Into 2021 Despite Vaccine Nearing

By Enda Curran and Jeff Black

November 24, 2020, 12:00 AM GMT 

IMF, G-20 leaders say the global recovery is stalling 

  Vaccines aren’t expected to be circulated worldwide for months

The surging coronavirus is stoking fears of a fresh downturn for the world economy, heaping pressure on central banks and governments to lay aside other concerns and do more to spur demand.

Hopes are mounting that Covid-19 vaccines will become available as soon as December, but widespread delivery will take months and infections are rising again in many large economies. Authorities are responding with more restrictions to limit the virus’s spread at the price of weaker economic activity.

Wall Street economists now say that it wouldn’t take much for the U.S., euro area and Japan to each contract again either this quarter or next, just months after they bounced from the deepest recession in generations. Bloomberg Economics gauges of high-frequency data point to a double-dip downturn, with European factory indexes on Monday justifying that worry, though a U.S. measure of business activity was upbeat.

That leaves policy makers hearing calls for more stimulus, even when central banks are already stretched and starting to worry about froth in financial markets. Meantime, politicians from the U.S. to Europe are clashing over just how much they can and should do with fiscal policy.

“While there is much excitement over the progress of vaccine development, it will not be the quick fix that many expect it to be,” Singapore’s Trade & Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing told reporters on Monday. “Manufacturing enough doses, then distributing and vaccinating a significant population of the world, will take many months, if not years.”

2021 Respite

Bloomberg Economics predicts a global economic rebound of 4.9% next year

Source: Bloomberg Economics

More

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-24/world-economy-risks-buckling-into-2021-despite-vaccine-nearing

BOJ's Kuroda rebuffs view Japan heading towards deflation

November 24, 2020 3:15 AM

TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday he did not see Japan heading towards deflation, but added he would watch service-sector consumption and capital expenditure closely.

“We expect capital expenditure to rebound, as the hit from COVID-19 eases and helps lift corporate profits,” Kuroda told a semi-annual testimony to parliament.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-kuroda-deflation/bojs-kuroda-rebuffs-view-japan-heading-towards-deflation-idUKKBN28409I?il=0

Cheese Prices Plunge as Lockdowns Bite Into Dining Business

By Justina Vasquez

November 23, 2020, 10:56 PM GMT

Cheese prices are plunging as Covid’s second wave drives diners from restaurants.

The pandemic is forcing U.S. officials to yet again tighten their grip on eating out, and that’s cutting into prices for cheese and other dairy products across the U.S. California imposed a curfew across much of the state, closing restaurants to all but take-out orders, and New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio has said it’s “just a matter of time” until his state halts indoor dining.

“The second lockdown will have a really bad impact eventually on the price of dairy commodities because the food service demand has been killed partly at least,” Paul Barre, head of dairy at Marex Solutions in London, said in an interview. “In the next weeks the market will start crumbling because there’s just not appetite to purchase -- from the end users -- at the moment.”

Prices for cheese blocks, the type that graces party platters, slipped 13% this year to about $1.66 a pound, according to Chicago Mercantile Exchange data. Barrel cheese, typically used to make processed cheeses, is down 18% this year.

Barrel cheese could slip to as low as $1.41 a pound by the end of March, according to HighGround Dairy, a Chicago-based research and brokerage firm partnered with Marex. Cheese blocks futures, which are above $2 a pound, are expected to sink as low as $1.49 by that period, the firm said.

Shutdowns earlier in the year cut demand for dairy purchased by restaurants, schools and other food-service providers, though the sales slumps for wholesale cheeses, butter and milk were offset by increased appetite from grocery stores as consumers shifted to eating at home.

The latest lockdowns threaten to dent prices in a downturn that’s set to deepen as more restaurants and schools close their doors and feed fewer people. Still, fast-food outlets and take-out restaurants may help blunt the impact for dairy producers.

“The American-style cheese and a mozzarella-style cheese -- the traditional cheeses -- are the ones being used on hamburger on sandwiches, on pizzas, and demand for those has been better than anticipated,” Mary Ledman, global dairy strategist at RaboBank in Chicago, said of demand this year. “As long as the drive-thrus remain open, that will be good for cheese demand.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-23/cheese-prices-plunge-as-lockdowns-bite-into-dining-business

Winter Watch.

The Arctic winter sea-ice expansion and northern hemisphere snow cover. From around mid-October, the northern hemisphere snow cover usually rapidly expands, while the Arctic ice gradually expands back towards its winter maximum.

Over simplified, a rapid expansion of both, especially if early, can be a sign of a harsher than normal arriving northern hemisphere winter. Perhaps more so in 2020-2021 as we’re in the low of the ending sunspot cycle, which possibly also influenced this year’s record Atlantic hurricane season.

Northern Eur-Asia turned snowy fast in mid-October.  The Arctic sea ice expansion was slow, and from a very low level at the end of September, but with the vastly expanded snow cover, sea ice formation sped up.

With the Laptev sea ice virtually back to normal, at the end of the third week of November I’m starting to think that it will likely be a normal to slightly warmer winter ahead for western Europe.

The failure of the Kara Sea ice to return to normal, leads me to bet on a warmer western European winter ahead.

Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice.

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

https://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_asiaeurope.gif

Covid-19 Corner                       

This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

Newsom in Isolation; North Carolina Cites ‘Danger’: Virus Update

Bloomberg News

November 22, 2020, 11:19 PM GMT Updated on November 23, 2020, 8:43 PM GMT

A Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc prevented a majority of people from getting the disease but fell short of the bar set by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. The virus is forecast to claim another 30,000 American lives by mid-December.

New York state will reopen an emergency facility on Staten Island, where hospital capacity is strained. New York City will be in “dire, dire shape” without federal aid, its mayor said. And in neighboring New Jersey, the number of patients in intensive care jumped 13% in one day.

Italy became the second European nation after the U.K. to reach 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. China reported sporadic local cases in Tianjin, Shanghai and Inner Mongolia, raising concerns that the virus is popping up again in the nation where it began.

• Global Tracker: Cases pass 58.9 million; deaths top 1.39 million
• Astra delivers but can’t match rivals. Here’s what we know
• Regeneron gets emergency U.S. clearance for Covid-19 therapy
• Vaccine breakthroughs put Covid protection within reach
• Covid’s persistence leads GOP, Democrats to same half measures
• Expat hubs turn on foreign workers amid Covid-19

More

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-22/u-s-cases-rise-110-000-a-day-since-last-month-virus-update?srnd=coronavirus

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can be 90% effective, results show

November 23, 2020 7:11 AM By Kate Holton, Josephine Mason

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Monday its vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be around 90% effective without any serious side effects, the latest drugmaker to unveil positive interim data in a scientific race to curb a global pandemic.

The vaccine developed by Oxford University was 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 when it was administered as a half dose followed by a full dose at least one month apart, according to data from the late-stage trials in Britain and Brazil.

No serious safety events related to the vaccine have been confirmed and it was well tolerated across both dosing regimens, it said.

“This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against COVID-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency,” Pascal Soriot, Astra’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The British drugmaker’s preliminary trial results mark a fresh breakthrough in the fight against a pandemic that has killed nearly 1.4 million people and roiled the global economy.

AstraZeneca shares fell 1.1% in early morning trade, defying expectations for a bounce and underperforming the wider market with the FTSE 100 index rising 0.5% at the open.

Another dosing regimen showed 62% efficacy when given as two full doses at least one month apart, and the combined analysis from both dosing regimens resulted in an average efficacy of 70%. All results were statistically significant.

The interim analysis was based on 131 infections among participants who received the vaccine and those in a control group who were given an established meningitis shot.

The data showing a range of efficacy between 60% and 90% comes after U.S. rivals published interim data in recent weeks showing efficacy of more than 90%.

While the efficacy reading from Astra’s viral vector vaccine is lower than its U.S. rivals, the data will boost confidence about the chances of successfully developing a variety of vaccines using different approaches. Public health experts say the world will need many vaccines to meet global demand.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-astrazeneca/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-can-be-90-effective-results-show-idUKKBN2830HH?il=0

Breakingviews - Vaccine euphoria may be headed for a reality check

November 23, 2020  11:46 AM

LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - On a sinking ship, women and children are typically saved first. In a pandemic the opposite is true. After AstraZeneca on Monday became the latest drugmaker to say its vaccine offers high levels of protection from Covid-19, elderly citizens have high hopes of getting their jabs soon. However, younger people will have to wait longer. Investors counting on a rapid recovery may be disappointed.

There’s a sound logic to vaccinating the most vulnerable. Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation reckons that if the over-50s, healthcare workers and people with compromised immune systems were inoculated, 99% of Covid-19 deaths would be avoided. That should allow countries which have imposed tough restrictions to protect their healthcare systems to begin opening up their economies.

The imminent arrival of multiple vaccines makes this a real prospect. AstraZeneca said on Monday its treatment, developed with the University of Oxford, could be effective in as many as 90% of patients at the right dosage. Rival jabs developed by Pfizer and Moderna appear to be 95% effective.

However, a swift rollout is still ambitious. In the United Kingdom alone, there are 3.2 million people over 80, who will be among the first in line for a vaccine. Due to the high risk of infection, authorities will be reluctant to offer inoculations in hospitals and doctors’ offices. Some countries are exploring drive-in centres for the double doses, which must be administered one month apart.

Reaching herd immunity, where the virus no longer spreads, means inoculating some 70% of the population, according to the World Health Organization. Sceptical citizens are another impediment. Only 40% of Americans say they will sign up for a first-generation vaccine, according to an index compiled by Axios and Ipsos.

Even if they’re willing, young and able-bodied people may have to wait until 2022 to be vaccinated, according to the WHO. Though some may be willing to live with the risk, others are likely to keep avoiding public transport and mass gatherings. That will put a cap on any recovery in corporate profitability.

Investors are pricing in a faster recovery. Analysts expect companies in the Global MSCI index to report a 17% drop in profits this year, according to data from JPMorgan, but that next year’s earnings will exceed 2019 levels. Despite the good news about vaccines, those expectations may prove overly euphoric.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccine-breakingvi/breakingviews-vaccine-euphoria-may-be-headed-for-a-reality-check-idUKKBN2831BC

Shares in world's top latex glove maker plunge as workers test positive for COVID

November 24, 2020  5:07 AM  By Liz Lee

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Shares in Top Glove Corp plunged on Tuesday after Malaysia said it would close some factories of the world’s biggest rubber glove maker as more than 2,000 of its workers had tested positive for COVID-19.

Top Glove’s shares were down as much as 7.5% by late morning after the government said 28 factory buildings will be shut in phases, although it did not provide a timetable.

The company, which commands a quarter of the global latex glove market, has racked up record profits this year on sky-rocketing demand for its products and protective gear, thanks to the pandemic. Despite Tuesday’s slump, its shares have surged over four fold this year.

Malaysia itself makes just under two thirds of the world’s rubber gloves, according to the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association. Hartalega Holdings and Supermax Corp are the other two top glovemakers in the country.

Malaysia’s Health Ministry reported a sharp rise in cases in the area where Top Glove factories and dormitories are located, with 2,453 workers testing positive for the virus, out of 5,767 screened.

Top Glove runs 47 factories across Malaysia, Thailand, China and Vietnam, with 36 of them producing gloves. Europe and North America are its biggest markets.

---- In a stock exchange filing on Monday, Top Glove said it had temporarily stopped production at 16 of the 28 facilities since last Wednesday, with the balance of 12 facilities operating at much reduced capacities.

More

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-top-glove/shares-in-worlds-top-latex-glove-maker-plunge-as-workers-test-positive-for-covid-idUKKBN2840D8?il=0

Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.

World Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines

NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html

Stanford Website. https://racetoacure.stanford.edu/clinical-trials/132

Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker

Some other useful Covid links.

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Rt Covid-19

https://rt.live/

Covid19info.live 

https://wuflu.live/

Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

“Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.”

Thomas A. Edison

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC energy mankind’s future from the 21^st century onwards.

A new understanding of ionic interactions with graphene and water

Findings could inform design of environmental technologies behind water purification processes and electric energy storage

Date: November 18, 2020

Source: Northwestern University

Summary: New findings could inform design of environmental technologies behind water purification processes and electric energy storage.

A research team led by Northwestern University engineers and Argonne National Laboratory researchers have uncovered new findings into the role of ionic interaction within graphene and water. The insights could inform the design of new energy-efficient electrodes for batteries or provide the backbone ionic materials for neuromorphic computing applications.

Known for possessing extraordinary properties, from mechanical strength to electronic conductivity to wetting transparency, graphene plays an important role in many environmental and energy applications, such as water desalination, electrochemical energy storage, and energy harvesting. Water-mediated electrostatic interactions drive the chemical processes behind these technologies, making the ability to quantify the interactions between graphene, ions, and charged molecules vitally important in order to design more efficient and effective iterations.

"Every time you have interactions with ions in matter, the medium is very important. Water plays a vital role in mediating interactions between ions, molecules, and interfaces, which lead to a variety of natural and technological processes," said Monica Olvera de La Cruz, Lawyer Taylor Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, who led the research. "Yet, there is much we don't understand about how water-mediated interactions are influenced by nanoconfinement at the nanoscale."

Using computer model simulations at Northwestern Engineering and x-ray reflectivity experiments at Argonne, the research team investigated the interaction between two oppositely charged ions in different positions in water confined between two graphene surfaces. They found that the strength of the interaction was not equivalent when the ions' positions were interchanged. This break of symmetry, which the researchers' dubbed non-reciprocal interactions, is a phenomenon not previously predicted by electrostatic theory.

The researchers also found that the interaction between oppositely charged ions became repulsive when one ion was inserted into the graphene layers, and the other was absorbed at the interface.

"From our work, one can conclude that the water structure alone near interfaces cannot determine the effective electrostatic interactions between ions," said Felipe Jimenez-Angeles, senior research associate in Northwestern Engineering's Center for Computation and Theory of Soft Materials and a lead author on the study. "The non-reciprocity we observed implies that ion-ion interactions at the interface do not obey the isotropic and translational symmetries of Coulomb's law and can be present in both polarizable and non-polarizable models. This non-symmetrical water polarization affects our understanding of ion-differentiation mechanisms such as ion selectivity and ion specificity."

"These results reveal another layer to the complexity of how ions interact with interfaces," said Paul Fenter, a senior scientist and group leader in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne, who led the study's x-ray measurements using Argonne's Advanced Photon Source. "Significantly, these insights derive from simulations that are validated against experimental observations for the same system."

These results could influence the future design of membranes for selective ion adsorption used in environmental technologies, like water purification processes, batteries and capacitors for electric energy storage, and the characterization of biomolecules, like proteins and DNA.

More

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201118141857.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fmatter_energy%2Fgraphene+%28Graphene+News+--+ScienceDaily%29

“The attempt of Lavoisier to reform chemical nomenclature is premature. One single experiment may destroy the whole filiation of his terms; and his string of sulphates, sulphites, and sulphures, may have served no end than to have retarded the progress of science by a jargon, from the confusion of which time will be requisite to extricate us.”

Thomas Jefferson, Letters of Thomas Jefferson