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Related Concept Videos

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes01:23

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes

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In the absence of an external magnetic field, nuclear spin states are degenerate and randomly oriented. When a magnetic field is applied, the spins begin to precess and orient themselves along (lower energy) or against (higher energy) the direction of the field. At equilibrium, a slight excess population of spins exists in the lower energy state. Because the direction of the magnetic field is fixed as the z-axis,  the precessing magnetic moments are randomly oriented around the z-axis.
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Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution01:14

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution

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Near absolute zero temperatures, in the presence of a magnetic field, the majority of nuclei prefer the lower energy spin-up state to the higher energy spin-down state. As temperatures increase, the energy from thermal collisions distributes the spins more equally between the two states. The Boltzmann distribution equation gives the ratio of the number of spins predicted in the spin −½ (N−) and spin +½ (N+) states.
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Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation01:28

Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation

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Nuclear relaxation restores the equilibrium population imbalance and can occur via spin–lattice or spin–spin mechanisms, which are first-order exponential decay processes.
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Nuclear Stability03:18

Nuclear Stability

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Protons and neutrons, collectively called nucleons, are packed together tightly in a nucleus. With a radius of about 10−15 meters, a nucleus is quite small compared to the radius of the entire atom, which is about 10−10 meters. Nuclei are extremely dense compared to bulk matter, averaging 1.8 × 1014 grams per cubic centimeter. If the earth’s density were equal to the average nuclear density, the earth’s radius would be only about 200 meters.
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¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution00:52

¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution

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At room temperature, the chair conformer of cyclohexane undergoes rapid ring flipping between two equivalent chair conformers at a rate of approximately 105 times per second. These two chair conformers are in equilibrium. The rapid ring flipping results in the interconversion of the axial proton to an equatorial proton and an equatorial to the axial proton. Such interconversions are too rapid and cannot be detected on the NMR timescale. Hence, the NMR spectrometer cannot distinguish between the...
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Nuclear Transmutation

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Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one nuclide into another. It can occur by the radioactive decay of a nucleus, or the reaction of a nucleus with another particle. The first manmade nucleus was produced in Ernest Rutherford’s laboratory in 1919 by a transmutation reaction, the bombardment of one type of nuclei with other nuclei or with neutrons. Rutherford bombarded nitrogen-14 atoms with high-speed α particles from a natural radioactive isotope of radium and observed...
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Updated: Mar 7, 2026

High-Resolution Neutron Spectroscopy to Study Picosecond-Nanosecond Dynamics of Proteins and Hydration Water
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Characterizing Neutron-Proton Equilibration in Nuclear Reactions with Subzeptosecond Resolution.

A Jedele1,2, A B McIntosh1, K Hagel1

  • 1Cyclotron Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|February 25, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Neutron-proton equilibration in atomic nuclei occurs rapidly on a subzeptosecond timescale. This study reveals insights into the nuclear equation of state, crucial for understanding chemical element origins.

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Area of Science:

  • Nuclear Physics
  • Nuclear Astrophysics

Background:

  • Atomic nuclei created in nuclear collisions can be dynamically deformed.
  • These deformed nuclei initially have dissimilar compositions at their ends.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neutron-proton equilibration process in dynamically deformed atomic nuclei.
  • To determine the timescale and kinetics of this equilibration.

Main Methods:

  • Studying neutron-proton equilibration in dynamically deformed nuclei from nuclear collisions.
  • Utilizing angular momentum to correlate nuclear breakup orientation with its timescale.
  • Applying first-order kinetics to model the equilibration process.

Main Results:

  • Equilibration occurs on a subzeptosecond timescale.
  • The extracted rate constant for equilibration is 3 zs⁻¹.
  • This corresponds to a mean equilibration time of 0.3 zs.

Conclusions:

  • The rapid equilibration provides new insights into the nuclear equation of state.
  • Understanding the nuclear equation of state is vital for nuclear and astrophysical phenomena.
  • This research contributes to understanding the origin of chemical elements.