The layer of neutrons on the outside of a lead nucleus is twice as thick as physicists thought, research finds. The seemingly abstruse result could have out-of-this-world implications. ScienceMagArchives
Say what you want about lead, it's got a surprisingly thick skin—of neutrons, that is. In fact, the layer of neutrons on the outside of a lead nucleus is twice as thick as physicists thought, according to a new study. The seemingly abstruse result could have out-of-this-world implications: Neutron stars, the ultradense spheres left behind when stars explode in supernova explosions, could be stiffer and bigger than theory generally predicts.
It's the thickness of that skin that nuclear physicists with the Lead Radius Experiment at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have now measured. To do that, they bounced copious electrons off nuclei of lead-208, the most common isotope of the element, which has 82 protons and 126 neutrons. The negatively charged electrons interact with the positively charged protons mainly through the electromagnetic force, which deflects the electrons.
The observed asymmetry implies the lead nucleus has a neutron skin 0.28 fermi thick, give or take 0.07, PREX researchers report today inin 2012, but the new data reduce the uncertainty by half. The more precise finding suggests the neutron skin of lead-208 is about twice as thick as theorists had predicted and other less direct experiments had indicated.
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