A schematic diagram showing a high energy interaction in which a proton
(ionized H atom) strikes a gold nucleus, causing the nucleus to expand
and fly apart. (Courtesy, Victor Viola, Indiana University)
Phase diagrams for two analogous systems: (left) the nucleons in a
krypton nucleus interacting via the strong nuclear force (EOS was an
experiment carried out 10 years ago at LBNL); and (right) Krypton atoms
in a gas interacting via the electromagnetic interaction. r and rc are the density and critical density, respectively. Likewise,
T and Tc are the temperature and critical temperature,
respectively. (Courtesy, LBNL)
Reported by: Kleine
Berkenbusch et al., Physical Review Letters, 14 Jan
2002; Elliott et al., upcoming issue of Physical
Review Letters; Lefort
et al., Physical Review C, 1 December 2001.
Associated
Physics News Update
