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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday June 13 2018, @01:49PM   Printer-friendly
from the he-ain't-heavy-he's-my-nucleus dept.

Nobelium — element number 102 on the periodic table — has an atomic nucleus that is deformed into the shape of an American football, scientists report in the June 8 Physical Review Letters. The element is the heaviest yet to have its nucleus sized up.

By probing individual nobelium atoms with a laser, the team gauged the oblong shape of three nobelium isotopes: nobelium-252, -253 and -254. These different forms of the element each contain 102 protons, but varying numbers of neutrons. The shape is not uncommon for nuclei, but the researchers also determined that nobelium-252 and -254 contain fewer protons in the center of the nucleus than the outer regions — a weird configuration known as a “bubble nucleus” (SN: 11/26/16, p. 11).

The measurements are in agreement with previous theoretical predictions. “It nicely confirms what we believe,” says study coauthor Witold Nazarewicz, a theoretical nuclear physicist at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

Elements heavier than uranium, number 92, aren’t found in significant quantities in nature, and must be created artificially. Currently, the heaviest element on the periodic table is number 118, oganesson (SN Online: 2/12/18). But scientists hope to go even bigger, in search of a potential “island of stability,” a proposed realm in which elements are more stable than other heavy elements.

While many superheavy elements decay in just fractions of a second, some theoretical calculations suggest that elements inhabiting this proposed hinterland might persist longer, making them easier to study. Better understanding the heaviest known elements, including the shape of their atomic nuclei, could help scientists gauge what lies just out of reach.


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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday June 13 2018, @02:47PM (4 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday June 13 2018, @02:47PM (#692349) Journal

    Why is it believed that there might be some island of stability in heaver elements?

    Background reading:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_stability [wikipedia.org]

    *I just love it when a Sci Fi says this alien metal is not found on earth! Oh, really? Just what elements NOT on the periodic table is it made of? And Captian America's shield made of the element Vibrainium, which atomic element was that again? Uh, I'm really gonna get in trouble now!

    Count your lucky stars. If Earth had naquadah we'd probably all be Jaffa right now.

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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:20PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:20PM (#692442) Journal

    Very interesting. Thanks.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:42PM (1 child)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:42PM (#692465) Journal

    Just what elements NOT on the periodic table is it made of?

    I would argue that these 10 Elements [popularmechanics.com] are not found on Earth. They're on the periodic table but they're created in a lab.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 14 2018, @02:00PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 14 2018, @02:00PM (#692899) Journal

      By "found on earth" what I really mean is "known to mankind".

      There won't be some alien metal that we don't know about, or at least cannot predict and understand that it was a manufactured element that is not known to naturally occur. (not that it might not naturally occur somewhere, but that is highly unlikely since we haven't seen any of it anywhere)

      We can make the same predictions about snapping various combinations of protons / neutrons / electrons / cruotons together just as any alien race can.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:50PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:50PM (#692469)

    Good thing we have dilithium and drunken Montanans to shoot dead any invaders from space.