Space- and Time-Resolved Emission Contours for the Transition Occurring in Atomic Uranium (IMAGE)
Caption
When energy is added to uranium under pressure, it creates a shock wave, and even a tiny sample will be vaporized like a small explosion. By using smaller, controlled explosions, physicists can test on a microscale what could previously be tested only in larger, more dangerous experiments. In a recent experiment, scientists used a laser to ablate atomic uranium while recording chemical reactions as the plasma cooled, oxidized and formed species of more complex uranium. This image shows space- and time-resolved emission contours for the transition occurring in atomic uranium at 591.54 nanometers (left) and the transition occurring in uranium monoxide at 593.55 nm (right). The data were recorded using a monochromator photomultiplier tube, with varying partial pressures of oxygen.
Credit
Patrick Skrodzki
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