Using muon-catalyzation toward Island of Stability?

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In summary, the conversation revolves around the methods and challenges of creating larger and larger elements in particle accelerators. Neutrons and alpha particles are used to create elements beyond uranium, but they are not effective for superheavy nuclei. The idea of using muon-catalyzed fusion is brought up, but it is determined that it would not be practical for creating heavy nuclei. The use of muons in general is also discussed, with the conclusion that their small cross section and the availability of energy from accelerators make them less useful in this context.
  • #1
bbbl67
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Hi, I'm an amateur observer of nuclear physics, so I'm curious about how larger and larger elements are produced in particle accelerators. Like for example, they've created elements all of the way upto element 118 now, I guess? Like when they get Plutonium from Uranium, do they bombard with neutrons, or bombard with alpha particles? Using neutrons, some of the neutrons would decay into protons, I suppose. Using alpha particles, you would automatically have two extra protons and neutrons inside the nucleus. And is this also how they keep building towards larger elements than Plutonium?

Now my second question would be, have they considered using Muon-catalyzation as a method of making larger and larger elements, heading towards the so called Island of Stability? For example, could they use Muon catalyzation to bring some truly large atomic nuclei (bigger than an alpha particle) together to fuse? Like for example, fusing a Lead nucleus to Uranium? Or even fusing two Uranium together?
 
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  • #3
mathman said:
These elements are created by collision of two fairly large nuclei. Attached is an example.
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/936490-synthesis-isotopes-elements-fusion-reactions
Okay, so they are already using pretty big nuclei to produce these things, they mentioned Calcium + Californium I think, but they aren't using a muon catalyzer, so wouldn't a muon catalyzer make these fusions much easier?
 
  • #4
I have no idea how it would be used in the creation of heavy nuclei, since the theory is for use in fusion reactors.
 
  • #5
Muon-catalyzed fusion works for hydrogen only. A muon shields a charge of 1 only, and getting multiple muons in an atom within their short lifetime is unrealistic. Once you have an accelerator you can directly deliver the necessary energy for a collision.

Neutrons are a great method to create elements just a bit beyond uranium, especially plutonium and americium. They don't help for the superheavy nuclei - you need months for the process in a nuclear reactor but the nuclei just live for seconds or less.
 
  • #6
mfb said:
Muon-catalyzed fusion works for hydrogen only. A muon shields a charge of 1 only, and getting multiple muons in an atom within their short lifetime is unrealistic. Once you have an accelerator you can directly deliver the necessary energy for a collision.

Neutrons are a great method to create elements just a bit beyond uranium, especially plutonium and americium. They don't help for the superheavy nuclei - you need months for the process in a nuclear reactor but the nuclei just live for seconds or less.
When they send heavy nuclei through an accelerator (e.g. gold), aren't they completely stripped of all of their electrons? If so, then after stripping away the electrons, what if they shotgun a barrage of muons towards them, and their entire orbital cloud would be filled by muons. Since the muons would be going at relativistic speeds, their lifetimes would be extended.
 
  • #7
bbbl67 said:
When they send heavy nuclei through an accelerator (e.g. gold), aren't they completely stripped of all of their electrons?
Typically, but it depends on the application.
bbbl67 said:
If so, then after stripping away the electrons, what if they shotgun a barrage of muons towards them, and their entire orbital cloud would be filled by muons.
Where would you get such a muon source from?
And where is the point? We can make the nuclei collide directly - the energy is provided by the accelerator.
 
  • #8
mfb said:
Where would you get such a muon source from?
And where is the point? We can make the nuclei collide directly - the energy is provided by the accelerator.
Well, I don't know how they make the muons, but I've always assumed that they make millions of them at a time.

As for what the point is, wouldn't this make it easier to create the superheavy nuclei to jump to the Island of Stability rather than slowly approach it?
 
  • #9
bbbl67 said:
Well, I don't know how they make the muons, but I've always assumed that they make millions of them at a time.
Millions don't help you, the probability that a muon is caught by one particular nucleus is tiny.
bbbl67 said:
As for what the point is, wouldn't this make it easier to create the superheavy nuclei to jump to the Island of Stability rather than slowly approach it?
No. See above: Accelerators can easily deliver enough energy. Lowering the required energy doesn't help.
 
  • #10
I studied to use muons as catalyzer of fusion reactors and as long it is needed 150MeV to generate them and the enhancement of fusion was 25% I decided not to go on that.
Another way I tried is to generate a small magnetic black hole to generate fusion inside but giant kilotesla fields wastes a lot of energy due radiation and eroded all electrodes, wolframium toriated included due hundred amps were released

probability that a muon is caught by one particular nucleus is tiny
Yes, the cross section is small you should have to compress the matter more than 10 times
 

1. What is muon-catalyzed fusion?

Muon-catalyzed fusion is a process that uses muons, which are subatomic particles, to catalyze or speed up the fusion of atomic nuclei. This process is similar to nuclear fusion, where two atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus, but it occurs at lower temperatures and pressures due to the presence of muons.

2. How can muon-catalyzed fusion be used to create the Island of Stability?

The Island of Stability is a theoretical region on the periodic table where superheavy elements with long half-lives are predicted to exist. Muon-catalyzed fusion can be used to create this island by producing these superheavy elements through the fusion of lighter elements under the influence of muons.

3. What are the potential benefits of using muon-catalyzed fusion towards the Island of Stability?

If the Island of Stability can be created and these superheavy elements can be produced, it could lead to a better understanding of the fundamental properties of matter and potentially have important applications in fields such as nuclear energy and medicine.

4. What are the challenges associated with using muon-catalyzed fusion towards the Island of Stability?

One of the main challenges is the short lifetime of muons, which can only exist for a few microseconds. This makes it difficult to control and sustain the fusion process. Additionally, the production of muons is energy-intensive and expensive, making it a costly process.

5. Has muon-catalyzed fusion been successfully used towards the Island of Stability?

While there have been some promising results in producing superheavy elements through muon-catalyzed fusion, it has not yet been achieved on a large scale. Further research and advancements in technology are needed to fully utilize this process for creating the Island of Stability.

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