"We excite the atoms to the Rydberg stage with a laser, " explained Dr Bendkowsky.
BBC: World first for strange molecule
This ultracold experiment is also ultra-fast - the longest lived Rydberg molecule survives for just 18 microseconds.
Pushing this electron out to its lonely periphery - and make a Rydberg atom - requires energy.
When one is a Rydberg atom, the two atoms form a Rydberg molecule.
"The Rydberg electron resembles a sheepdog that keeps its flock together by roaming speedily to the outermost periphery of the flock, and nudging back towards the centre any member that might begin to drift away, " said Professor Greene.
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