An unprecedentedly heavy version of oxygen is significantly less stable than expected, which suggests a problem our understanding of the nuclear strong force
The fluorine atoms each had 20 neutrons and nine protons. When they collided with the liquid hydrogen, they each lost a proton, turning the atoms into oxygen-28. The researchers expected these atoms to be stable. But instead, they found that they only existed for
, or trillionth of a billionth of a second, and then decayed into the less heavy oxygen-24 and four neutrons.“This is extremely surprising. It opens a very, very big fundamental question about nature’s strongest interaction, the nuclear strong force,” saysat Saint Mary’s University in Canada, who was not involved with the experiment.
Kondo and his team expected that oxygen-28 would hang around a lot longer because it was thought to be “doubly magic”.of which can accommodate specific numbers of particles. When all occupied shells are fully filled, the number of particles within them is called “magic” and the nucleus that they comprise becomes extremely stable.Untangle the weirdness of reality with our monthly newsletter.If both protons and neutrons fully fill an atom’s shells, then it is called doubly magic.
Through various studies of isotopes like calcium-40 and nickel-48, seven numbers are widely recognised as being magic, including the number 20 for neutrons. The new experiment challenges this idea. Theoretical models will have to be re-made, and more experiments will need to be done in order to get a sense of what the particles inside oxygen-28 actually do if they are not in full and stable shells, says Kanungo.
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