A team led by researcher Yosuke Kondo, from the Department of Physics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, found two isotopes of oxygen never seen before: oxygen-27 and oxygen-28.
According to the scientific article, published in the journal Nature, oxygen-28 is of particular interest to scientists. Such an isotope has 8 protons and 20 neutrons — the highest number of neutrons ever seen in an isotope of oxygen.
To better understand the discovery, it is necessary to know that the nucleus of an atom contains protons (positive particles) and neutrons (neutral particles).
Thus, each chemical element is defined by its atomic number, that is, the number of protons it has in its nucleus. The number of neutrons can vary, leading to the emergence of isotopes: variations in the number of neutrons of the same chemical element.
According to the study, the discovery surprises theoretical predictions. The researchers report that oxygen-28 is only formed for a short period of time, until it decays into four neutrons.
For scientists, exploring other reactions that produce this isotope could be a way to understand its existence.
Source: CNN Brasil
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