100 years ago, Schrödinger’s equation shed light on quantum physics – scientists use it today to fine-tune chemical reactions

Erwin Schrödinger's 1926 wave equation lets scientists calculate the probability of a particle's properties, underpinning everything from plant pigmentation to computer chips. A theoretical chemist describes using approximate solutions to the equation to track how atoms rearrange during chemical reactions, aiding research into biofuels, solar cells and drug-delivery materials before anything is synthesized in a lab.

The equation remains impossible to solve exactly for molecules beyond five or six atoms because computational difficulty grows exponentially with each added particle. One quantum effect, tunneling, lets reactions proceed even when molecules lack the energy to clear a normal barrier; a 2022 study found hydrogen tunneling boosted efficiency in a reaction converting plant material like switchgrass into liquid fuel, an effect that stopped when hydrogen was swapped for its heavier cousin deuterium.

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