Instead of water, they used a nanoscopic droplet of liquid helium cooled to -273°C as the solvent – and instead of a grain of salt, they used an atom of sodium.

Note: In order to simplify the model of ionic bonding, a single atom of sodium and chlorine are shown. In reality, the chlorine atom would be bonded to another chlorine atom as part of the gas Cl 2.

As part of an upcoming photo essay project spotlighting Denver restaurant pros whose tatts are as prevalent as their dissections, burns, blisters, knife slashes and stabs, we promised that we'd ...