Scientists may have just caught their first glimpse of an ultra-rare version of nitrogen containing five more protons than it can stably hold.
If follow-up experiments can confirm its existence, the isotope will set a new record for an atomic nucleus with the highest number of extra protons — moving the number from four to five. The researchers described the strange new isotope Oct. 27 in the journal Physical Review Letters.The ultra-unstable version of nitrogen decays like a Russian nesting doll, sequentially emitting one or two protons while revealing the next set, Robert Charity, a nuclear scientist at Washington University in St.
Beyond the drip line atoms become unstable, and decay by chucking out protons or neutrons. Because they exist on the furthest edge of possible atomic nuclei, semi-stable atoms beyond the drip line have long fascinated nuclear scientists. The researchers found the first hints of nitrogen-9’s presence in data from a years-old experiment conducted by the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. Originally, the scientists smashed oxygen-13 atoms into beryllium in a bid to create another isotope called oxygen-11. —Boulders on Ryugu are surprisingly fluffy, space probe findsBut lurking among the millions of interactions was another decay signature that pointed to something else.