ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Molecular Borromean rings

Have you ever played with rings that are all linked together, like a puzzle? That's kind of what molecular borromean rings are like, but instead of being toys, they are made up of very, very tiny things called molecules.

Imagine you have three separate rings, and you want to put them together so that they're all linked up. But you can't just slide them onto each other like normal rings. Instead, you have to figure out a way to loop one ring through another, and then loop the third ring through those two. It's like a magic trick!

Scientists have figured out how to make these borromean rings using special molecules that are shaped like tiny triangles. Each triangle has a piece sticking out that can be looped through the other triangles, creating the borromean ring structure.

These molecular borromean rings are really cool because they're very stable and can hold their shape even when they're floating around in a liquid. Scientists can use them to study how molecules interact with each other, and they may even be useful in designing new materials or drugs in the future.