Space-Based Research May Help Settle Scientific Puzzle About the Lifetime of a Neutron

Scientists need to pin down the lifetime to better understand fundamental physics questions, like how the universe evolved. View in browser

Image credits: NASA/Ames Space-Based Research May Help Settle Scientific Puzzle About the Lifetime of a Neutron Scientists need to pin down the lifetime to better understand fundamental physics questions, like how the universe evolved. Will Sullivan, Staff Writer October 22, 2021                                                                                                                                                                              (Inside Science) -- Scientists have been trying to measure the lifetime of a neutron outside an atomic nucleus for decades, and for the last 15 years, two types of laboratory experiments have provided different answers. In a new study, researchers for the second time have measured the neutron lifetime in a setting far outside the lab -- space. This new measurement -- based on data captured near the moon -- is less precise than the lab measurements, and it does not clarify if either of the two lab results is correct. But it shows it's possible that future space-based measurements might be precise enough to help answer the question of how long neutrons survive... Read more Copyright 2021 American Institute of Physics. Inside Science syndicates its articles, columns, blogs and videos to news organizations. To initiate syndication, or request permission to republish our content (on a one-time or continuing basis), please contact Inside Science at insidescience@aip.org. News organizations seeking permission to republish Inside Science content must fully credit Inside Science as the original source of the content, include the author byline, and republish the original, unaltered form (excluding content titles, headlines, or sub-headlines). The reprint format can be seen here. Copyright conditions and usage terms are subject to change at any time without consent or any type of prior notice. To unsubscribe from all future mailings from Inside Science please click here. To manage your email subscriptions please click here.

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