A new Uranium Isotope 'Uranium-241' discovered

Tags: Science and Technology

A team of nuclear physicists of Japan has discovered a previously unknown uranium isotope with atomic number 92 and mass 241.

An overview of the news

• The study has been published in the journal Physical Review Letters and the new isotope has been named Uranium-241.

How was uranium-241 found?

• To discover uranium-241, researchers accelerated uranium-238 nuclei into plutonium-198 nuclei using the KEK Isotope Separation System (KISS).

• In a process called multinucleon transfer, two isotopes exchange protons and neutrons, resulting in nuclear fragments with different isotopes.

• The researchers identified uranium-241 and measured the mass of its nuclei using time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

• Theoretical calculations suggest that uranium-241 may have a half-life of 40 minutes.

Significance of the discovery

• The technique used by the team will help to better understand the shape of large nuclei associated with heavier elements.

• The method of discovery can be used for more information on other heavy isotopes.

About Uranium Element

• Uranium is a naturally occurring chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92.

• It is a heavy metal that is radioactive and is found in small amounts in rocks and soil around the world.

• Uranium has many isotopes, which are atoms that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

• Uranium has three isotopes in its natural state, U-234, U-235 and U-238.

• Other isotopes that are not found in natural uranium are U-232, U-233, U-236, and U-237.