MUP releases book on Nuclear Physics

Manipal: “Today, we live in a time when natural elements, even those not found in Nature can be made artificially. Making chemical elements, a dream of humankind has come true. SuperHeavy Elements (SHE), much heavier than those in Nature, have recently been created,” said Prof Dr Gottfried Muenzenberg, the German Nuclear Scientist while addressing the gathering, through skype,  at the release of Manipal University Press (MUP) book titled SuperHeavy Elements on Tuesday at Manipal Centre for Natural Sciences (MCNS), MAHE.

“I am proud to lead the German group which discovered the first series of SHE created by cold fusion,” added Prof Muenzenberg. The team discovered SHE Bh 107, Hs 108 and Mt 109 and is also the co-discoverer of Ds 110, Rg 111 and Cn 112. The book describes the discovery of the new elements.

The book addresses the physics of the creation of the chemical elements in the universe and the artificial synthesis of SHE in the laboratory. This book is written for a broader readership to allow the readers to participate in the fascination and excitement of discovering a new SHE and is also educational as it includes basic physics and new developments of SHE research, besides the historical aspects of it. For those readers who are interested in more details of SHE research, a bibliography including popular scientific articles as well as original papers are introduced in the book.

Dr H Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor of MAHE said, “Dr Muenzenberg is a unique scientist, an excellent researcher, which is evident in every discovery he has made and how he has been chasing the things, which are not visible to us. I met him before MUP was established and as this is the 150th year of the Periodic Table, I felt that Manipal could contribute to the search for an end to Periodic Table”.

Dr Mohini Gupta the Director of MCNS reflected on the experience of working with Prof Muenzenberg as a researcher. She added that he has discovered seven elements and numerous isotopes. She said that the book was of immense value to nuclear physicists.