What Makes an Element? The Frankenstein of Sodium Holds Clues

WIRED Science: Space, Health, Biotech, and More

• Episode: What Makes an Element? The Frankenstein of Sodium Holds Clues
• Website: WIRED Science: Space, Health, Biotech, and More
• Feed URL: http://api.spokenlayer.com/feed/channel/v1-wired-science-ext/3c9929b72538c12bd92ac6762f8d798b9d4e8cdca7692ea74f466061d01816cb
• Duration: 00:06:52
• Published: 2019-11-26 13:34

A few years ago, a group of physicists created an unusual, never-before-seen subatomic particle. Using a particle accelerator at Riken, a Japanese research institute, they slammed streams of calcium nuclei against a metal disk, over and over, for hours at a time. Then, sifting through the aftermath of the collisions, they found their coveted particle. They named their creation: sodium. That’s right, sodium.