Question: whats your favorite experiment

Ben Cropper answered on 16 Mar 2020:

From my research, my favourite experiment was the (p,d) reaction on 116Cd. You basically fire a load of protons at a thin foil of cadmium-116 (which is an isotope of the metal cadmium. It has 48 protons and 68 neutrons). Some things that have come out are deuterons (a nucleus made of one proton and one neutron). In this case, the proton has actually scooped up a neutron out of the cadmium nucleus! We can measure the energy that these deuterons have and how many of them there are, and that can tell us about the way those neutrons were orbiting the rest of the nucleus!

Outside of my research, I like the one where you get a papier mache volcano and stick some vinegar and baking soda in it, and watch it “erupt”. The chemical reaction is cool, and I have no idea what the volcano is doing there except that it looks cool (volcanoes have nothing to do with vinegar and baking soda!). Maybe it’s so it sticks in the mind, certainly has mine!