Probing the Skin of a Lead Nucleus
April 27, 2021•
Physics 14, 58
Researchers make the most precise measurement yet of the neutron distribution in a heavy nucleus, with implications for the structure of neutron stars.
Figure 1: A cartoon image of a lead-208 nucleus, showing the mixed proton-neutron core and the neutron “skin” (left). Measuring the thickness of the neutron skin offers clues about how neutron stars are structured (right).×
Popular cartoon visualizations depict the protons and neutrons in a nucleus as colored marbles packed randomly into a sphere. In reality, heavy nuclei in which neutrons tend to outnumber protons are more differentiated, with the neutrons nudged radially outward. At the outer limits of such nuclei, the neutrons form a thin “skin” enclosing a core of mixed neutrons and protons (Fig. 1). Now, the Lead Radius Experiment (PREX) Collaboration at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia has determined the thickne
Illustration by Sandbox Studio, Chicago with Steve Shanabruch
Where science meets the sacred
04/20/21
By Brianna Barbu
Sanford Underground Research Facility is making an effort to build bridges with Native American communities and operate with respect for the sacred land it is built on.
The name of the Black Hills mountain range in western South Dakota is a translation of the name the Lakota (Sioux) gave the area: Paha Sapa, “hills that are black.” The description evokes the mountains’ dark-colored ponderosa pine. Nine federally recognized South Dakota tribes and 18 other land-based tribes have spiritual and cultural connections to the Black Hills.
Tue March 16, 2021 - Midwest Edition #6
Giles Lambertson â CEG Correspondent
An overlook of the open cut, where rock will be deposited from the 4,850-ft. level excavation.
(Sanford Underground Research Facility photo)
International science came to the Black Hills of western South Dakota, because that s where the deep hole is. Over the last century, the hole Ross Shaft was sunk 5,000 ft. to give access to lateral tunnels from which gold was extracted from sedimentary rock to a depth of 8,000 ft. Now the opening into the earth is being repurposed into an entranceway for a highly-sophisticated underground physics experiment.
Most of us non-scientists have to wrestle a bit to comprehend the scientific aspect of the project, which is called the
Mar 13 2021 Read 2896 Times
A team of engineers and technicians at the STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory and its university partners in the North-West have started production on vital detector components for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted by Fermilab in the US. The UK government has invested £65 million into this major international science experiment which will study elusive neutrinos in a bid to advance our understanding of the origin and structure of the Universe.
Scientists will capture the neutrinos in detectors containing 17,000 tons of liquid argon, with the tiny electrical signals of neutrino interactions read out by Anode Plane Assemblies (APA). APAs are huge rectangular planes covered with thousands of copper-beryllium wires, about the width of a human hair. Each APA stands at an impressive 2.3m by 6.3m – making them the largest individual components for DUNE, and they have to be built with millimetre precision.
Particle detector at Fermilab plays crucial role in Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment | US Department of Energy Science News eurekalert.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eurekalert.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.