Topic: Synthetic element island of stability question

[Stormbringer]

i recently read an article about isotpe enrichment by nuetron stream. common uranium was enriched to bomb grade via a filtered stream of nuetrons from a radium gun. my question is several synthetic elements created recently in labs have halflifes of unusual lengths but of course they were unstable. some of these are close to the so called magic number of nuetrons to fill the outer nucleonic shell and thus be stable. [if you think i meant electron shell you don't know enough to comment so shaddup] well anyway, could a radium gun be used to insert nuetrons into these new elements until enough atoms of stable synthetic element would be made to preserve and detect a sample?

[E_Look]

That's exactly the idea and we're working toward testing if that theoretical "island" of stability really exists.  Unfortunately, we still have a few more elements to go through, first.  Now, I will confess I am not well versed at all in the theories of nuclear stability; I have no idea why or what mathematical result provides for this and other projected islands of nuclear stability.

But this is one area of science where I do believe we can see some real results within our lifetimes.  It would be grand to synthesize an superheavy that is stable!

[Stormbringer]

well a couple of the superheavies we just synthesized are relatively stable 90 miliseconds and 1 minute 20 seconds. i have read that one of these may possibly be made in a stable form by adding a few nuetrons. that is what i wanted to see if that would be feasible by zapping it when it appears with a properly timed and properly accelerated stream of nuetrons?

[Stormbringer]

a filter would be used to deaccelerate the neutrons so that they get to the nucleus but do not break it.

[Bonk]

The strategy you propose is reasonable by my logic, but I'm not very confident that any "islands of stability" will be found. I purport that the infinity of nature would have already produced them (now it is possible we have not detected them, or mistaken them for high energy waves). I recall a nuclear stability plot from an old text that showed essentially stability of nuclei with a 1:1 ratio of protons to neutrons, but it is not exactly linear, deviating slightly from a slope of 1 in an exponential fashion toward greater numbers of neutrons for the heavier elements.

He Ain't Heavy - He's my Brother...  (sorry) ... we need a musical smiley...

[E_Look]

I don't know Bonk; I have review all my forgotton nuclear physics which I really don't have time for, in order to more honestly say yes or no.  I don't remember or don't know that much about the thermodynamics of the nucleus.  I even forgot on what mathematical basis the "islands" were postulated.

[Nemesis]

Link to laymans explanation of "island of stability"

It does require some knowledge and comprehension of atoms, protons, neutrons and quantum states but not too much.

[E_Look]

Oh, I think most of us have no problem with these very basics; I mean, to have discrete energies and interactions that produce stability/instability (often in quantum they appear as a tandem), there must be wavelike properties.  Yes, these are subatomic particles and so should be subject to the quantum regime, but they are a bit larger than electrons and I just wonder what kind of wavefunction would describe a proton or a neutron?  Would these then lead to real spatial regions that they may exist in and corresponding energies?  Which could in turn be subject to the kind of thermodyamics as in atomic physics?