Tag Archives: neutron

The universe doesn’t always cooperate. Science has puzzled over gamma-ray bursts since they were first detected in the 1960s, and just when we think we have the basics solidified, something happens to upend conventional wisdom. Astronomers have spent the last year studying a gamma-ray burst dubbed GRB 211211A. Based on …

Physicists have performed an improved measurement of the free neutron lifetime using the UCNτ apparatus at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Their results, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, represent a more than two-fold improvement over previous measurements. Gonzalez et al. report an improved measurement of the free …

To answer the big questions, sometimes we must look to the very small. Researchers at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center’s Ultracold Neutron Source, within Los Alamos National Lab, have been passing the cryo-baton for more than a decade, working at ever colder temperatures in order to study the behavior …

Physicists are still arguing over whether black holes have “hair,” but we’re pretty sure neutron stars have mountains. These dead stars are extreme in every respect, from their magnetic field to gravitational influence, but the only thing extreme about the mountains is how small they are. A new analysis of …

Physicists are still arguing over whether black holes have “hair,” but we’re pretty sure neutron stars have mountains. These dead stars are extreme in every respect, from their magnetic field to gravitational influence, but the only thing extreme about the mountains is how small they are. A new analysis of …

Mission Carries Out Space-Based Measurements of Neutron’s Lifetime Using data acquired in 2007 and 2008 during flybys of Venus and Mercury by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft, researchers found the neutron lifetime to be 780 seconds. Cosmic rays striking Venus’ atmosphere eject neutrons that gradually fly into space. As neutrons move to …