The electron soon attaches itself to another molecule, making a negatively charged ion.

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If you zap purified water with electric current, you can split apart a water molecule into a positively charged hydrogen ion and a negatively charged hydroxide ion (oxygen attached to hydrogen).

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The theory is that when a muon encounters a gas molecule, it can knock off an electron, leaving a positively charged ion in its wake.

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His team is working on many next-generation technologies that could render Ion Torrent obsolete, including one that will read a single DNA molecule.

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