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Foundations of Carbon-Based Life Leave Little Room for Error

By Guest PostApril 2, 2013Sciencealpha particles, carbon, carbon 12, carbon based life, dean lee, deutsche forschungsgemeinschaft, electron volts, elementary particles, elements, evgeny epelbaum, helium 4 nuclei, hermann krebs, hoyle state, juelich supercomputer centre, kev, light quark mass, north Carolina, numerical lattice, oxygen, quarks, room for error, specific energy, state university, timo laehde, ulf g

Life as we know it is based upon the elements of carbon and oxygen. Now a team of physicists, including one from North Carolina State University, is looking at the conditions necessary to the formation of those two elements in the universe. They’ve found that when it comes to supporting life, the universe leaves very little margin for error.

Both carbon and oxygen are produced when helium burns inside of giant red stars. Carbon-12, an essential element we’re all made of, can only form when three alpha particles, or helium-4 nuclei, combine in a very specific way. The key to formation is an excited state of carbon-12 known as the Hoyle state, and it has a very specific energy – measured at 379 keV (or 379,000 electron volts) above the energy of three alpha particles. Oxygen is produced by the combination of another alpha particle and carbon. (more…)

MU Scientists Build Harness for Powerful Radiation Cancer Therapy

By Guest PostFebruary 11, 2013Healthactinium, alpha emitter, alpha particles, beta particles, bone cancer, cancer cells, cancer patients, cancer site, cannon balls, david robertson, gold nanoparticle, gold plated nanoparticle, groundbreaking work, healthy organs, human clinical trials, knoxville, low energy, mark mclaughlin, national laboratory, oak ridge, radiation cancer therapy, radioactive particles, radiopharmaceuticals, radium 223 chloride, tissues, treatments for cancer, tumors for treatment, university of missouri, university of tennessee

Scientists at MU, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville created a gold nanoparticle that can transport powerful radioactive particles directly to tumors for treatment.

We’ve all heard that “it’s not wise to use a cannon to kill a mosquito.” But what if you could focus the cannon’s power to concentrate power into a tiny space? In a new study, University of Missouri researchers have demonstrated the ability to harness powerful radioactive particles and direct them toward small cancer tumors while doing negligible damage to healthy organs and tissues. The study is being published this week in PLOS ONE, an international, peer-reviewed and open-access publication. (more…)

Researchers Reveal Structure of Carbon’s ‘Hoyle State’

By Guest PostDecember 11, 2012Sciencealpha clusters, alpha particles, bent arm, carbon 12, dean lee, element, evgeny epelbaum, german colleague, helium 4 nuclei, hermann krebs, hoyle state, lattice, life on earth, neutrons, north Carolina, nucleons, particle, physicist, picture, protons, simulate, snapshot, state university, structure, timo laehde, ulf g meissner

A North Carolina State University researcher has taken a “snapshot” of the way particles combine to form carbon-12, the element that makes all life on Earth possible. And the picture looks like a bent arm.

Carbon-12 can only exist when three alpha particles, or helium-4 nuclei, combine in a very specific way. This combination is known as the Hoyle state. NC State physicist Dean Lee and German colleagues Evgeny Epelbaum, Hermann Krebs and Ulf-G. Meissner had previously confirmed the existence of the Hoyle state using a numerical lattice that allowed the researchers to simulate how the protons and neutrons interact. When the researchers ran their simulations on the lattice, the Hoyle state appeared together with other observed states of carbon-12, proving the theory correct from first principles. (more…)

Six New Isotopes of the Superheavy Elements Discovered

By Guest PostOctober 29, 2010Sciencealpha particles, doubly magic isotopes, island of stability, nuclear shell structure, six new isotopes, superheavy elements

The discovery of six new isotopes, reaching in an unbroken chain of decays from element 114 down to rutherfordium, is a major step toward better understanding how to explore the region of enhanced stability thought to lie in the vicinity of element 114—and possibly beyond.” (more…)

Tag Archives: alpha particles

Foundations of Carbon-Based Life Leave Little Room for Error

MU Scientists Build Harness for Powerful Radiation Cancer Therapy

Researchers Reveal Structure of Carbon’s ‘Hoyle State’

Six New Isotopes of the Superheavy Elements Discovered