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Canadian Researchers Create Supernova In-lab
Erebus42 writes "Canada has done something neat. Apparently researchers at the University of British Columbia have created supernova in their ISAC (Isotope Seperator and Accelerator), transmuting sodium 21 into magnesium 22. Spiffy."
Now could you make a black-hole for power generation purposes?
Thanks!
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- Douglas Adams
Canada has done something neat.
Christ, how many dollars is the new coin worth this time?
--saint
The world has enough Sodium 21. It's about time someone started converting all that crap to Magnesium 22.
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"Canada is now leading the world in the field of nuclear astrophysics.
;-)
"We have bragging rights."
Finally... I was wondering when we would.
void women (int money, time_t time);
"Nova" Scotia should have known better!
THere seems to be wuite a bit of bragging in the article, but I guess that is to be expected. Something big like this sounds like it took a lot of effort, so these guys were psyched. Can't say as I blame them.
But it does kindof worry me that Canadians ccan now create there own elements at will. What is to prevent them from creating tons and tons of gold and flooding the gold market? Or How about creating their own Plutonium. Uh oh, I think Canada just got the bomb...Or Carbon. If canada can create it's own Carbon, what can keep them from creating diamonds and flooding the diamond market. And Carbopn is the basis for life. they can create their own stem cells. George Bush ain't going to be happy about that one...Wait, I just relized this means they can create their Hydrogen. My god, they cancreate their own sun. My god, Canada must be stopped.
Congrats goes out to these guys.
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The idea is that by recreating a supernova we can possibly see how the universe was formed. The theory I believe suggests that the big bang was essentially a really large supernova. It said this in the article (although I've been known for not reading every single little word, sort of like in Army of Darkness)
--- I used to moderate, then I read the -1 articles and decided having to filter through them was not worth it.
..Canadian shield proves ineffective.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
What has this to do with stars exploding?
I mean, yes, this is a nuclear reaction that occurs in supernovas, but it's only one of many. If you come to my house and I sell you a book, I have not recreated Barnes and Noble in my study.
Still, it's a cool trick.
--
E_NOSIG
It will never cease to amaze me that there is this army of trolls just lying in wait to come up with the stupidest, most knee-jerk, ignorant and uninformed comment on damn near anything withing moments of its appearance. There's almost a sort of genius to it...
Unfortunately it's a really stupid, useless sort of genius.
It Is the Nature of Information to Transgress Artificial Boundaries
But the next thing ubc wants to do is ignite the "supernova".
:)
Next for the lab is what Shotter describes as one of the thorniest problems for nuclear astrophysicists, duplicating the reaction of the isotope oxygen 15, which is believed to be the spark that ignites nova explosions and x-ray bursts.
What can I say, America better not try and invade...
1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcf
If you go through the quotes you will notice that the scientiest never said they created "a supernova". For some reasons - saying so is really stupid, a supernova is something million times brighter than a star (more precise: around 10^10 times as bright as our sun). Even if our sun goes up in a nova it won't even come close to that - how do you want to build that in a lab?
When are they going to make a dollar that's actually worth one dollar?
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
I went outside a little while ago and didn't see any bright flashes. I was looking northward too (from Florida). Are you sure this wasn't made up, like the lunar landings?
"What is the sound of one belly slapping?"
In this experiment, they apparently used a particle accelerator to add a proton to sodium 21. This made magnesium (?), a new element. But it didn't last long, the proton decayed into a neutron, converting the atom back into sodium, this time with 22 nucleons (one extra neutron than before).
The reason this is news: we have never converted one element into another before (at least not this way).
It's a huge stretch to say this is the first man-made supernova. Maybe it's the first man-made r-process nuclear reaction, but that's a far cry from a supernova. The reaction they've reproduced involves trace elements, not the iron/nickel that are really important in a SN.
Basically, a SN happens when a massive star has converted all of its core fuel into iron by nuclear fusion. The star's gravity compresses and heats the iron until it can fuse also. However, iron is the most tightly bound element, so fusing iron nuclei doesn't release heat energy, it removes it. The thermal pressure that was holding up the star's core disappears in a fraction of a second, and the whole thing comes crashing down in a huge implosion. The implosion causes the core material to form a neutron star or a black hole, and the rebounding shock wave blows the rest of the star apart.
Doesn't sound much like what they did. I don't mean to downplay their achievement; it's still very impressive. I'm just lamenting the sorry state of most science reporting...
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Would that be a Supernovetta?
I think the term is "nanonova".
All employees must wash hands before seeking equitable relief.
The better we understand how the universe works, the closer we get to that hyperdrive.
Also this shows that the same physics applies here as applies many light years away. That might seem like an obvious assumption to make, but it is good to confirm these things.
All this bragging aboot Canada makes me want to go download that Molson beer commercial from AdCritic...
"I am a cipher, a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce" -Jimmy James
Lots of things could end up in Osama's hands. Let's ban hands altogether.
Where's the guy who makes the joke about other people asking about Beowulf clusters of supernova's?
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Let's not stir that bag of worms...
the sodium 21 was transmuted into magnesium 22, which decays into the radioactive isotope sodium 22
as opposed to remaining as magnesium 22. That being said this is still a huge breakthough. With the exception of hydrogren and helium all the elements in the universe are believe to have been formed in Novas or Supernovas. These researchers now has the ability to observe this process directly. Up till now all our knowledge on the subject in based on theories based observations of distant (super)Nova. Who knows the possible extensions of this technology? Transmutation of elements? Fission reactors? Not to mention the huge betterment of our understanding of these processes which will undoubtedly lead to new fields of research which may lead to other breakthroughs in themselves.
I stole this Sig
Scientific groups RUSH and SAGA were disappointed to learn of TRIUMF's success, but swore to produce even bigger explosions next time.
.. what about the classic water to wine? I'd be far more interested in that - good thing I've got a vote in this country!
"Old man yells at systemd"
I suppose the perfect antidote to a portable 'Supernova' weapon would be a portable 'Blackhole' weapon. Man the defense industry is going to love this.
I'm waiting for the machine that turns Pb into Au.
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A University of B.C. research team has recreated the death of a star and subsequent birth of elements that form the universe, the first time this has been done by mankind.
The statement following was left out for some unknown reason. In the interest of preserving the true integrity of journalism, it is included below:
The team, along with the University of B.C., became the first humans and university, respectively, to be instantly vaporized by a supernova. Bystanders were awed at the sight before receiving intensive doses of gamma- and x-rays. Despite their injuries, some requested prior notification of future tests, in hopes of capturing the event on film.
University of B.C. officials were not commenting on the event, but bystanders were eager to recount their version of the story: "It went boom," said one man, who claimed to be in his early forties and said he had been attending the school for over 20 years, "and I think I had a class in that building once! It's things like this which make me try that much harder to graduate."
The theory I believe suggests that the big bang was essentially a really large supernova.
Which is about like saying that the universe is like a really large apartment.
I guess I'm not catching the real significance of this "achievement". What was the theory? What was this experiment attempting to prove or disprove? Were they just showing off how fast they could accellerate protons??
Proclaiming that their proton beam somehow creates a miniature nova seems like a ploy to attract attention (and funding, of course).
So, to sum up, they've got their isotope accellerator up and working to the point where they can do some very nice experiments on high-energy nuclear processes, including a number that are important in stellar explosions. No supernova though.
-JS
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity...
but aren't supernovas the cause of black holes?
Not necessarily. The immense amount of forces that are involved in a supernova create conditions that allow black holes to form. All you really need for a black hole is enough heavy matter in small enough space.
It's like this... When planets and even small stars form, the electromagnetic force is enough to keep individual atoms from crushing each other. You can't push electrons any closer.
Stars who die without becoming any bigger become white, and eventually black dwarfs.
In larger stars, after they ignite, the nuclear force-- the constant fusion reaction-- is enough to do the same thing. Once that fusion reaction shuts down, however, the atoms begin to collapse, increasing density and pressure until the heavier atoms are able to fuse.
If a star this size goes nova, the electrons and protons collapse, leaving neutrons. The neutron matter will hold up to a certain point under the force of gravity. AP's correct me, but I think it's the electroweak force that is responisble for this resistance.
If a star dies at this stage, you get a neutron star.
If a star is very, very massive... Think blue giants... Even the force that keeps the neutrons from crushing eachother is not enough to overcome the force of gravity. The neutrons collapse under their own weight into an infinitly small point and the space around the singularity warps until the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light.
I'm certain what we all know that singularity + event horizon = black hole.
Despite the fact that the researchers were creating the same kinds of reaction that occurs in the latter period of the death of a star, they simply weren't dealing with the kind of mass necessarly to create a black hole. Even if scientists *did* manage to create enough pressure to force matter to collapse into a singularity, it would evaporate away into Hawking radiation almost instantly. You don't just need the singularity to keep a black hole, you need to have it be massive and keep feeding it to keep it alive.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
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You want to try reading slashdot sometime.
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If this decays into radioactive sodium, how long does it last? Are we talking standard half life stuff, or is this "magnesium" only magnesium for a very very short period of time?
The CRC handbook lists the following half-lives:
Na21 22.5s
Mg22 3.86s
Na22 2.605y
It's only a northern sun.
JET Program: see Japan, meet intere
In a parallel breakthrough sure to rock the physics world to its very foundations, Tsar has created a mini black hole in his ISAC (Incredibly Stinky, Ancient Cubicle), causing light to bend uniformly around a point approximately six inches above his desk. The feat was accomplished by using a sample of very pure silicon-based substance called "glass", which was ground and shaped to form what is, in effect, a solid "lens".
Ultraviolet light generated by an ionized gas was then used to excite a flourescent coating on the interior of a nearby cylinder, creating visible light which was reflected by the surface of a technical document placed precisely in its path. The light was then directed through the "lens" to produce the light-bending effect commonly seen only around supermassive objects such as black holes and galactic superclusters.
Tsar's next ambitious project is to create a miniature expanding multiverse by blowing up several balloons for a staff New Year's party, the expense of which will likely be covered by the piles of grant money expected due to the unqualified success of the LENS experiment.
Disclaimer: I'm all all for the advancement of science, but why do we have to use hyperbole to make it seem interesting, or valuable? Maybe if everyone stopped claiming to have created supernovae or black holes or the core of a star or the moment of creation, we could get to a point where dull, devoted, brilliant researchers who didn't minor in drama can still get funding for their worthy efforts. (This is not a plug—I'm not a researcher, and I'm vastly overpaid as it is.)
The media always get this one wrong. TRIUMF is not the same as UBC -- it happens to be situated near to UBC's campus, but they are about as separate as Linux and Redhat. Not completely distinct, but you'll get lots of people annoyed if you always say Redhat when you mean Linux.
The name "TRIUMF" actually comes from the original name: TRI University Meson Facility. The three founding universities being UBC, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Victoria.
Work at TRIUMF is done by people from the member universities, people from other institutions (although there's more paperwork involved IIRC), and by "facilities scientists" -- people hired by TRIUMF itself. I don't know about the rest of the research group, but Paul Schmor is listed in TRIUMF's databases as having TRIUMF affiliation -- not UBC.
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I can't believe that the 3D View of the Experimental Hall (which I worked two weeks on as a summer student) is actually posted on Slashdot! Fame and fortune, here I come!
Wah!
To the naysayers amongst you, I'm actually Canadian born and a dual citizen, so this is just a poke in the ribs, really.
Cheers,
levine
It still amazes me after all these years that so many people react to the Slashdot editors' trolls. A lot of articles posted to Slashdot are informative, but obviously as a corporate entity, Slashdot needs to attract the masses with sensationalist, trollish stories as well. There are at least three 5-rated posts in response to this story that it is exagerative.
This happens over and over. Do you think that the Slashdot editors are that stupid? No, they are smart, and they make a lot of money. If they keep it too tight and smart, a lot of people (read: lurkers, not the average poster) might get bored or scared away.
Why do you think there is no article moderation or ratings in this supposedly "open" community? All I'm saying is that you shouldn't waste so much energy on getting worked up over Slashdot's editing.
LS
There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
...a great way of getting rid of weapons grade stuff you might have around...
(former IT guy from AECL makers of the CANDU)
BlackNova Traders
Let's make some gold, baby...
If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
If I read the article right, it decomposed back into sodium(22). We can create lots of elements with super science gadgets, but none that I've heard of are stable.
Even the sodium(22) is temporary. It decays to neon(22), which is stable.
In general, if it's stable, it's found in nature at high enough concentrations that you don't need to produce it (e.g. gold). The accelerators and reactors are for when you want an unstable element that isn't found in nature, and that does something interesting as it decays toward stability.
However, I have to wonder what would happen to radioactive waste that was modified this way.
It would probably just get more radioactive. If you were able to isolate a particular waste isotope you might be able to transmute it into something more friendly, but it'd probably require more energy than you ever got from the nuclear fuel in the first place.
We've got to figure out some way to make that stuff less dangerous,
Put it back in the mine where you originally got the uranium, enclosed in leak-resistant containers (e.g. a block of glass). That should make it less dangerous than the other background hazards (radon from the natural uranium that we haven't yet mined, radioactive potassium in bananas, carbon-14, pesticides, tobacco smoke and car exhaust, etc).
Or just make bullets out of it and shoot it at your enemies. Worked well for the US in the Gulf war, with the depleted uranium left over after producing enriched power-plant fuel and bombs.
*I mean, how often have you seen a weather map on TV that has temperatures in Canada that are even 32 degrees? It'll be 72 in Seattle and just across the border in Vancouver it's 20 degrees. And when it's 35 degrees in Buffalo, it's usually like ZERO in Toronto.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
I was wondering what that bright flash was. Just wish they had warned us to put on 9999 SPF sunblock. Still, at least I know who's to blame for being sunburned extra crispy: Blame Canada! Blame Canada!
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
I understand these things are small, and are likewise controlled, but if you create something which may accidentally grow exponently bigger (if this is even possible)?...
Yep, spiffy is a perfect description.
You grab any old particle accelerator and aim it at element X and get element Y. Spiffy.
Well, I guess Canada needs bragging rights to SOMETHING better than "The only country in the world less likely to get in war with the US than Texas".
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- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Why, here in Canada, we've not only created a supernova but in fact a whole 'mirror universe'. Although virtually identical to the US in most ways, in this 'twin world' the dollar is almost worthless, the politics are leftish, measurements are conducted in a rather strange "metric" system, the minority language is French rather than Spanish, and people manifest love for their nation by violently asserting a profound lack of patriotism.
As near as I can tell, the real universe split from its when the war of independence failed to happen, although it could also have something to do with the invention of poutine.
Interestingly, since prime-time television programming has apparently not yet been invented in this timeline, this alternate universe is almost completely dependent upon its mate for non-drama, non-Prince-Edward-Island-themed broadcasts. Thus, while the existence of a 'shadow -universe' may come as a shock to all of you in out there in the real one, citizens of this other realm have known about your universe for quite some time. They've been watching you! They don't wear goatees, but they all seem to wear mustaches! Avoid replacement by your evil twin: Destroy Canada today!
- undoware.ca
Oh jeez, it's been a while.
Listen. Everybody - we're really, really sorry about Brian Adams. Nobody actually listens to him up here, but the gov't sponsors the production of tonnes of his albums, which we decided to dispose of south of the border.
We're really quite mortified at the whole thing. Please accept my apologies.