The experimental generation of increasingly intense light beams could help to unveil new physical regimes occurring in the presence of very strong electromagnetic fields. While some progress has been made towards this goal, ...
An international team of astronomers has observed an X-ray binary system known as EXO 2030+375. Results of the observation campaign, presented in a research paper published June 18 on the pre-print server arXiv, provide more ...
Using the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) onboard the International Space Station, astronomers have observed a distant X-ray binary known as EXO 2030+375. The observational campaign allowed them to explore ...
Using the Five-Hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), astronomers from the Guizhou University in China and elsewhere have discovered eight new millisecond pulsars in the globular cluster NGC 6517. The finding ...
A team of researchers from ANSTO and University of Technology Sydney have set a record by conducting thin film experiments at 1,100 degrees Celsius, using the Spatz reflectometer equipped with a vacuum furnace.
Nanomaterials
Jun 28, 2024
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Stars blinking code in Netflix's "3 Body Problem" might be science fiction, but by deciphering neutron stars' erratic flickers, a new study has revealed the twisted origin of these dead stars' mysterious "heartbeats."
Astronomy
Jun 26, 2024
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ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra spacecraft have detected three young neutron stars that are unusually cold for their age. By comparing their properties to different neutron star models, scientists conclude that the oddballs' ...
Astronomy
Jun 20, 2024
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When stars collapse, they can leave behind incredibly dense but relatively small and cold remnants called neutron stars. If two stars collapse in close proximity, the leftover binary neutron stars spiral in and eventually ...
Astronomy
Jun 18, 2024
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Low-energy nuclear fusion reactions can potentially provide clean energy. In stars, low-energy fusion reactions during the stages of carbon and oxygen burning are critical to stellar evolution. These reactions also offer ...
General Physics
Jun 10, 2024
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Elements are the building blocks of every chemical in the universe, but how and where the different elements formed is not entirely understood. A new paper in The Astrophysical Journal by University of Wisconsin–Madison ...
Astronomy
Jun 10, 2024
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The neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton.
Neutrons are usually found in atomic nuclei. The nuclei of most atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of protons in a nucleus is the atomic number and defines the type of element the atom forms. The number of neutrons determines the isotope of an element. For example, the carbon-12 isotope has 6 protons and 6 neutrons, while the carbon-14 isotope has 6 protons and 8 neutrons.
While bound neutrons in stable nuclei are stable, free neutrons are unstable; they undergo beta decay with a lifetime of just under 15 minutes (885.7 ± 0.8 s). Free neutrons are produced in nuclear fission and fusion. Dedicated neutron sources like research reactors and spallation sources produce free neutrons for the use in irradiation and in neutron scattering experiments.
Even though it is not a chemical element, the free neutron is sometimes included in tables of nuclides. It is then considered to have an atomic number of zero and a mass number of one.
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