Scientificast, la scienza come non l'hai mai sentita

Trasporto di stelle di neutroni eccezionali

·53 min·4 clips

CERN scientists successfully transported antiprotons using a truck inside their Meran site in March 2026.

The episode opens with the host announcing a recent development at CERN: the successful transport of antiprotons by truck inside the Meran site in March 2026. It explains that antiprotons are produced by colliding protons into a beryllium target, with an efficiency of roughly one antiproton per million protons. These antiprotons are then decelerated from 3.5 GeV to 5 keV using the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) to make them trappable. The host describes the use of Penning traps, which combine magnetic and electric fields to confine the antimatter, preventing annihilation with normal matter. The technological challenge of placing this entire system on a truck is emphasized, noting only 92 antiprotons were transported. The goal is eventually to move antimatter to facilities like one in Düsseldorf for more precise measurements. The discussion touches on fundamental questions like why the universe is made of matter rather than antimatter and whether antimatter falls under gravity. The episode then shifts to an interview segment. Joelle Lequio interviews Walter Riva, director of the Genoa Astronomical Observatory, about FameLab. Riva explains that FameLab is a science communication competition where young researchers have exactly three minutes to present their topic using only one prop, timed by a plastic chicken that squeaks at the end. The Genoa selection involves multiple institutions and will have preliminaries at the Genoa Aquarium and University Library, with a final on May 7th. Riva shares a memorable presentation about order and probability using a deck of cards. He argues participation is valuable for researchers to learn public communication. After the interview, the host tells a joke about a mathematician miscalculating a jump from a burning building. The final segment covers magnetars. The host explains these are neutron stars with magnetic fields between 100 million and 100 billion Tesla, far beyond anything created on Earth. They form from supernovae, and their intense magnetic fields can deform atoms and cause "starquakes." The episode links magnetars to observations of ultraluminous supernovae like SN2024AF-AV, which have unusually long brightness curves. Magnetars have short lifetimes of a few thousand years, and the Milky Way may contain millions of extinct ones. The episode closes with contact information and support requests.

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