Scientists at
Michigan State University’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) have received a $3.28 million grant to develop an electromagnetic trap. The project will capture fleeting bits of matter to extract rare isotope ricochets and give us a better understanding of the nature of the universe.
“The products we make live for much less than one second before they decay into something else, so speed is very important,” explains David Morrissey, a university distinguished rofessor of chemistry and the project’s principal investigator.
Rare isotopes are the unstable versions of the chemical elements found here on Earth, but have too much or too little mass. At MSU, stable atoms are flung together at about one-third of the speed of light by huge electromagnetic accelerators, creating rare isotopes that otherwise are only produced in stars.
“The nuclear physics program at MSU was
recently named as the Number One program in the U.S.” Morrissey adds. “The recent funding will allow the scientists at the NSCL to branch out in a new direction and have the opportunity to continue to lead the field.”
Source: David Morrissey, Michigan State University
Writer: Suban Nur Cooley
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