Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Nuclear Reactions in the Lab Mimic Supernovas

This is one way to create a controlled "supernova" in the lab.

RESOLUT is not the only facility in North America using a beam of atomic particles to isolate rare nuclei in a particle accelerator, but it is unique in its flexibility. The TRIUMF Accelerator at the University of British Columbia and the ORELA facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have, Wiedenhöver admits, "better beams, but we can select more freely which isotopes to study."


So how come we don't get people complaining about a doomsday scenario for such an experiment? They seem to be coming out of the woodwork with the LHC collider creating blackholes. You don't hear people complaining about blowing ourselves up by creating a supernova.

Or maybe they aren't quite sure yet what a "supernova" is. :)

Zz.

No comments: