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Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics

A new spin on nuclei

01 Jul 1998

Magnetic rotation is a new phenomenon that is forcing physicists to rethink their understanding of what goes on inside the nucleus, explain Rod Clark and Bob Wadsworth

The Gammasphere gamma-ray detector
Gamma-ray detectors The detection of gamma-rays from very weakly populated configurations, such as superdeformed nuclei, requires very powerful spectrometers. "Gammasphere" is one of the most powerful gamma-ray detector arrays in the world. The array is composed of about 100 Compton-suppressed ultrapure germanium detectors that are arranged spherically around the target. When a gamma-ray enters a detector it disturbs the electrons in the germanium crystal and the resulting pulse of charge is proportional to the initial energy of the incident gamma-ray.
The rotation of quantum objects has a long and distinguished history in physics. In 1912 the Danish

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