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Hotspots or not? Isotopes score one for traditional theory
12-06-2006 · EurekAlert!New chemical evidence sheds light on the physical constraints of 'hotspots' -- locations where upwellings of Earth's mantle material form seamounts and island chains. Although the existence of hotspots has been debated over the past 30 years, consistent data from uranium isotope decay series at eight island locations supports the idea that concentrated plumes of hot mantle material formed these islands.
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Keywords: hotspots, isotopes, score, traditional, theory, hotspot, isotope
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- Study questions the 'biodiversity hotspot' approach to wildlife conservation
12-11-2006 · EurekAlert!
In recent years, major international conservation groups have focused their limited resources on protecting a small number of 'biodiversity hotspots'-threatened habitats that are home to many of the world's rarest plants and animals.But a handful of protected areas will not be sufficient to save the countless species of plants and animals facing extinction worldwide, according to a new study by scientists from Stanford University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
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- Uranium isotope ratios are not invariant, researchers show
10-23-2007 · EurekAlert!
For years, the ratio of uranium's two long-lived isotopes, U-235 and U-238, has been considered invariant, despite measurements made in the mid-1970s that hinted otherwise. Now, with improved precision from state-of-the-art instrumentation, researchers at the University of Illinois unequivocally show this ratio actually does vary significantly in Earth materials.
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- Texas A&M scientist probes bullet evidence to challenge findings in JFK assassination
05-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
Researchers at Texas A&M University are combining statistics and chemistry to shoot holes in traditional bullet-lead analysis techniques and the accuracy of so-called "expert" testimony -- specifically, calling into question critical evidence that has long supported the theory of a lone gunman in the 1963 assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy.
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- Helium isotopes point to new sources of geothermal energy
11-29-2007 · EurekAlert!
By measuring helium isotope ratios in fluids at the surface, geochemists Mack Kennedy of the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Matthijs van Soest of Arizona State University have discovered a new tool for identifying potential geothermal energy resources. The potential resources arise not from volcanism but from the flow of surface fluids through deep fractures that penetrate the earth's lower crust, in regions far from current or recent volcanic activity.
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- Isotope science to have wide-ranging impact, NSCL researcher says
02-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
Nuclear science -- and a host of other endeavors that involve the production, study and use of rare isotopes -- is undergoing a quiet but dramatic revolution. That's the conclusion of Brad Sherrill, professor of physics at Michigan State University, who says that the relatively new ability to create novel forms of atomic nuclei may be one of the great, underappreciated transformations in the physical sciences today. Sherrill is based at MSU's National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL).
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- Revamped, Renewed, Restarted: Oak Ridge High Flux Isotope reactor back on line
05-17-2007 · Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
The research reactor at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is back in action and better than ever. After $70 million in renovations and more than a year of meticulous system checks, ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor was restarted this week, taken to 10 percent power, and reached its peak power of 85 megawatts Wednesday.
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- New tool to measure speeding nuclei is a fast-beam first
07-18-2007 · EurekAlert!
An international collaboration at the Michigan State University National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, has demonstrated a new technique for studying particles traveling at one-third the speed of light. The result, which will be published in Physical Review Letters, opens up new doors to investigating rare isotopes. The study describes the first successful lifetime measurement the lifetime of an excited state of germanium-64.
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07-12-2007 · EurekAlert!
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- New theory for mass extinctions
10-24-2006 · EurekAlert!
A new theory on just what causes Earth's worst mass extinctions may help settle the endless scientific dust-up on the matter. Whether you favor meteor impacts, volcanic eruptions, cosmic rays, epidemics or some other cause for the worst mass extinction events in Earth's history, no single cause has ever satisfied all scientists all the time for any extinction event. That may be because big extinctions aren't simple events.
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12-14-2006 · EurekAlert!
Conventional matter exists in three familiar forms-solid, liquid and gas. But under special circumstances, quantum theory predicts exotic states of matter, such as superconductors in which electrons flow with no resistance and Bose-Einstein condensates in which atoms move as a collective whole. Now, in the December 15 issue of the journal Science, three Stanford physicists theorize a new state of matter that may pave the way for electronic devices that dissipate less energy and generate less heat.
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