Mar 31, 2021
Throwing Nuclear Darts at the Speed of Light: Physicists Flip Particle Accelerator to Gain a Clearer View of Atomic Nuclei
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: particle physics, space
Shooting beams of ions at proton clouds, like throwing nuclear darts at the speed of light, can provide a clearer view of nuclear structure. Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT
Shooting beams of ions at proton clouds may help researchers map the inner workings of neutron stars.
Physicists at MIT and elsewhere are blasting beams of ions at clouds of protons —like throwing nuclear darts at the speed of light — to map the structure of an atom ’s nucleus.