Michigan State University (MSU) physicists recently
created three new isotopes of magnesium and aluminum. This new discovery is
expected to expand nuclear research and change the way scientists view existing
elements.
According to excerpts from the article:
Researchers at Michigan State University’s National
Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory said their achievement not only expands
nuclear research but also suggest variants of everyday elements might exist
that are heavier than current scientific models predict.
"It's been a longstanding project since the beginning
of nuclear science to establish what isotopes can exist in nature," said
Professor Dave Morrissey. "This result suggests that the limit of
stability of matter may be further out than previously expected; really, it
shows how much mystery remains about atomic nuclei."
In the experiment that ran earlier this year, NSCL
researchers successfully created and detected three new super-heavy isotopes of
magnesium and aluminum: magnesium-40, with 12 protons and 28 neutrons;
aluminum-42, 13 protons and 29 neutrons; and aluminum-43, 13 protons and 30
neutrons.
Read the entire article here.
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