Why in the News?
A recent study by the ALICE Collaboration at Large Hadron Collider, CERN has explained how deuterons survive ultra high energy particle collisions.
About Large Hadron Collider
• World’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator
• Located near Geneva, on the France Switzerland border
• Circular tunnel of 27 km circumference
• Operated by CERN
• Collides protons and heavy ions at near speed of light
About Deuteron
- Deuteron is the nucleus of deuterium, a stable isotope of hydrogen
- Contains one proton + one neutron
- Denoted by ²H or D
- Simplest composite nucleus after hydrogen
- Found in trace amounts in natural water
- Present in atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn
Why Deuteron Survival Was a Puzzle
- LHC collisions create extreme temperature and energy
- Deuterons should theoretically break apart
- Yet deuterons and anti deuterons are observed repeatedly
Key Scientific Finding
- Deuterons mainly form through coalescence mechanism
- Protons and neutrons form first, then bind together later
- Pions act as energy carriers enabling binding
- Formation happens away from the most violent collision zone
- Explains survival despite low binding energy
Applications of Deuteron
- Production of heavy water (D₂O) used as moderator in nuclear reactors
- Used in fusion research as a fuel source
- Used in tritium production
- Important in nuclear physics experiments
| [2011] The function of heavy water in a nuclear reactor is to?
(a) Slow down the speed of neutrons (b) Increase the speed of neutrons (c) Cooldown the reactor (d) Stop the nuclear reaction. |
