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Article: Deformed nuclei spit out protons.(new type of proton radioactivity indicates atom's nucleus is flattened)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- March 7, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A rare type of radioactive decay can signal the shape of an atom's nucleus.
By determining the rate at which the unstable nuclei of two elements emit protons, researchers have for the first time obtained experimental evidence that these particular nuclei look more like flattened globes than true spheres.
"We haven't actually measured the deformation, but our results show these nuclei to be highly deformed," says Cary N. Davids of Argonne (Ill.) National Laboratory. Davids and an international team of researchers describe their findings in the March 2 Physical Review Letters.
"It's a new example of proton radioactivity and, more than that, ...