At the Gammasphere nuclear frontier - highly sensitive nuclear detector at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - Physics - Brief Article

Science News, July 13, 1996

Researchers are now starting to take advantage of a new, highly sensitive instrument for detecting gamma rays emitted by atomic nuclei. Located at the Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) National Laboratory and known as Gammasphere, this nuclear detector consists of a metal sphere more than 2 meters wide, honeycombed with 110 individual sensors.

The array enables physicists to study gamma rays from atomic nuclei created in high-energy collisions that fuse different ions together. These fused nuclei typically spin at high rates and often assume unusual shapes, ranging from football to pancake forms (SN: 7/8/95, p. 21).

A team led by Cyrus Baktash of the Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory has now detected examples of short-lived, rapidly rotating, football-shaped nuclei among the elements strontium, yttrium, zirconium, and niobium. "They are the fastest-spinning nuclei yet observed," Baktash says. The nuclei were synthesized by bombarding a nickel-58 target with beams of silicon-28 or sulfur-32 ions.

COPYRIGHT 1996 Science Service, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

 

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

Please add your comment:

  1. You are currently: a Guest |
  2.  

Basic HTML tags that work in comments are: bold (<b></b>), italic (<i></i>), underline (<u></u>), and hyperlink (<a href></a)

advertisement
CXO UnpluggedSmart Business interviews on BNET

See and hear how senior level executives across the Asia Pacific are developing smart business ideas across a variety of sectors. The focus is on the future, and on how businesses need to evolve.

advertisement
  • Click Here
  • Click Here
  • Click Here
  • Click Here
advertisement

Content provided in partnership with Thompson Gale