Liquid physium, gas fission
If we bombard a large nucleus of atoms with a neutron, it can be divided into two small nuclei. For example, from a uranium atom there are two atoms of tellurium and zirconium. That is not new, it is the fission typical of nuclear research. Some physicists at Indiana University of the United States have explained this fission as if it occurred in a liquid state, as it is similar to the process of dividing a large drop into two smaller drops.
However, these physicists have shown that fission can also occur in a gaseous state. Instead of neutrons, gold atoms have been bombarded by protons, antiprotons and pions. Neutrons have very low energy, while these other particles can have very high energy before shock. Scientists believe that above an energy level, higher than 8 MeV, gold atoms 'disintegrate' forming a lot of small particles. These experiments will measure the size and energy of the generated particles in order to analyze the characteristics of the nuclei.
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