at Chapel Hill has brought researchers closer to understanding the strong nuclear force, one of the most enigmatic of the fundamental forces.
The research team previously conducted similar experiments to study the strong nuclear force by examining how the structure of a nucleus can change when it is produced in an excited state through a nuclear reaction. These and other experiments done elsewhere led them to investigate nickel-64, which has 64 neutrons and protons. This nucleus is the heaviest stable nickel nucleus, with 28 protons and 36 neutrons.
The process looks similar to putting a bag of popcorn in the microwave. As the kernels warm up, they begin to pop into all different shapes and sizes. The popcorn that comes out of the microwave is different than what went in and crucially, the kernels changed their shape due to the energy exerted upon them.
From the analysis of the data, it was concluded that the Ni-64 nuclei excited by interactions with lead also changed their shape. But instead of popping into familiar fluffy shapes, the nickel’s spherical atomic nucleus changed into one of two shapes depending on the amount of energy exerted on it: oblate, like a doorknob, or prolate, like a football. This finding is unusual for heavy nuclei like Ni-64, which consist of many protons and neutrons.