The fission of mercury-180 was expected to be a symmetric reaction that would result in two equal fragments, but instead produced two nuclei with quite different masses, an asymmetric reaction that poses a significant challenge to theorists.The ISOLDE experiment at CERN fired protons at a uranium target, expecting to observe two zirconium-90 nuclei. Instead, the favoured daughter nuclei were ruthenium-100 and krypton-80.
Supersymmetry? Hmmm.
ReplyDelete