MSU physicists recently completed an experiment that would enable scientists to learn more about the origins of chemical elements.
Findings from the experiment, which recreated an isotope of nickel, were presented earlier this week at a meeting of the American Physical Society in Tampa, Fla.
"A lot of people have tried to do this experiment, and we're the only ones who have finally succeeded," said Hendrik Schatz, an associate professor of physics. "This was kind of a long-term goal of nuclear physics."
The experiment was designed to look at how elements are created. A current theory is that heavier elements, those with larger atomic numbers, are created out of supernova explosions - processes that can occur when stars die, Schatz said.
Decay of the nickel isotope leads to the formation of those other elements, he said. Scientists studied nickel, which can be used as a model, to figure out clues about other elements.
"About half of the heavy elements that we find today on the Earth, including gold and all the uranium, many other elements, we think have been made in the explosion of stars," Schatz said.
The experiment was physics doctoral student Paul Hosmer's thesis project.
Hosmer set up the experiment and conducted it during its run with the help of other group members.
"I think it's a pretty exciting result," he said. "It's pretty big for the lab."
The experiment itself was conducted in 2003, but the analysis took until last fall to complete, Hosmer said. A paper was published last month, and Schatz presented the group's findings this week.
Atoms are accelerated to high speeds and split into pieces. They are then sorted and measured, said Bradley Sherrill, a university distinguished professor in physics. Eleven of the nickel isotopes were created, at a rate of two per day. They only last for about a tenth of a second, and so the properties have to be measured in that short amount of time.
There are advanced electronic machines that can determine exactly when the isotope is created and exactly when decay begins, Schatz said.
MSU has been in competition with Argonne National Laboratory, near Chicago, for the Rare Isotope Accelerator, a nearly $1 billion project that would make its host the most advanced institution in nuclear physics.
The project has been stalled due to budget constraints, but Schatz said the experiment could be further aided by the acquisition of RIA.
Rather than only creating the nickel isotopes at a rate of two per day, RIA would allow the creation of 30 per second, he said.
"Two per day is a huge achievement, and much more than other labs are able to do, but the Rare Isotope Accelerator would be able to push things forward," Schatz said, adding that more complex measurements such as mass and shape could be considered. "We're just at the beginning, basically, and with RIA we could basically address all the nuclear physics issues."
