Gość: Bert
IP: *.214.90.209.Dial1.Boston1.Level3.net
17.07.02, 08:59
Scientists admit 'discovery' of two new elements was
fabricated
by Duncan Campbell, Guardian (London) - July 15, 2002
What was hailed as a major scientific discovery of two
new heavy elements three years ago now turns out to
have been based on fabricated evidence, academics have
revealed.
A team of scientists at Lawrence Berkeley laboratory in
California claimed in 1999 that a team of 15 scientists
had discovered an element called "ununoctium" by firing
high-energy krypton ions at a lead target. Their
findings suggested that they could see, in the words of
a New Scientist report, "the tell-tale disintegration
of element 118, containing 118 protons and 175
neutrons, along with its decay product, element 116".
The results were published hurriedly and created
ripples across the scientific community. The
significance of the discovery was that it appeared to
confirm theories about an "island of stability" for
nuclei and thus advance scientific knowledge.
But when scientists in Germany and Japan unsuccessfully
tried to replicate the results, questions about the
authenticity of the claims surfaced. Last year, the
laboratory finally withdrew the claims. Now they have
admitted that the research had been fabricated.
