Surrey nuclear experts gain £2M award to examine exploding stars
Thursday 13 October 2011
Nuclear physicists at the University of Surrey have been awarded a £2M grant from the Science and Technology Facilities Council to carry out research into the fundamental properties of atomic nuclei inside exploding stars.
The University of Surrey houses a world-leading group of nuclear physicists who are researching the exotic processes that go on inside such stars. They are keen to understand the reasons for the existence of the rich variety of elements and minerals that we now find on our planet Earth.
The experimental data coming out of laboratories from around the world are vital for testing our theoretical predictions based on computer modelling
The Surrey physicists are also looking for ways to control nuclear processes, which, it is hoped, will lead to novel energy-storage devices. That is not power as in nuclear power stations but rather in using nuclear means to store energy and release it in a controlled way.
Professor Phil Walker, principal investigator on the new research grant, said: “With exploding stars it’s not so much how the energy is generated, though that is a factor. It’s more a matter of what chemical elements are produced during the explosion, and in what quantities. For example, why there is more iron than gold.
“The modelling of exploding stars is a tough scientific challenge. The nuclear data are, in a general sense, needed to tie down the models, i.e. to keep them honest. The improvement in experimental data is going on at the same time as the improvement in theoretical understanding.
“In terms of energy storage, nuclear states can hold energy for years before they decay, i.e. release the energy. The usual viewpoint is that there is a fixed half-life for each nuclear state, and we have to live with that. So, if the half-life is 100 years, we have to wait 100 years for half the energy to dribble out.
“The new aspect is that it may be possible to stimulate that energy release, and thus control a nuclear process from outside the nucleus. There is limited evidence so far about this.”
He added that new experiments in the nuclear sphere such as at the CERN project would create a better understanding in this area.
He said: “The new horizon-expanding accelerator facilities, being planned and built worldwide, will radically improve our access to atomic nuclei that have never been made before on earth, and the new facilities are likely to come up with surprises that we haven’t even thought about yet.”
The £2M grant, which runs over four years, recognises the pioneering work of the group and their innovatory plans. Spin-offs from the research include improved cancer diagnosis and treatment.
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