In the
February 5 issue of
Physical Review Letters, it is reported that
there's now
experimental evidence of "
handed"
nuclei.
By shooting ions on certain elements, new nuclei were created. These had
75 neutrons, and 55, 57, 59 or 61 protons. The scientists measured the
spin states for the nuclei, noting especially the energy and angular
momentum of each state. The results showed doublets for the energy states -
seemingly identical with the same angular momentum, results in two closely
spaced energy states.
This is interpreted as a result of the nuclei spinning left-handed or
right-handed.
reference: Scientific American, Physical Review Letters