Published in Physics World, 14 Mar 2012
Physicists in the US claim to have witnessed, for the first time, the emission of a neutron pair in the decay of an atomic nucleus. Such “dineutron” decay could extend our understanding of the strong force, which is responsible for holding nuclei together, and the processes taking place in neutron stars.
Nuclear decay occurs when atoms change form in order to become more stable. The best known types are alpha decay, in which a helium nucleus is emitted, beta decay, in which an electron or positron is emitted, and gamma decay, in which gamma rays are emitted. In addition to these are decays involving the emission of a single proton or a single neutron. […]
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