The trihydrogen cation, H3+, is the starting point for almost all molecules in the universe. Typically, H3+ is formed by collisions involving hydrogen gas, but its chemistry at the molecular level is relatively unknown. When organic molecules are hit by a laser pulse, they are ionized and the reaction begins. Then, the molecules break up into different fragments; one of which is H3+. They are able to measure the details of this reaction: the timescales, yield, and how chemical bonds are broken and formed. These experiments also give key details about each step of the reaction which occurs on ultrashort (faster than one millionth of a millionth of a second) timescales.