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Neutrons with low enough kinetic energy (< 300 neV) are reflected by some materials due to the so-called Fermi pseudo potential. These ultracold neutrons can th
by fsh 8y ago
Neutrons with low enough kinetic energy (< 300 neV) are reflected by some materials due to the so-called Fermi pseudo potential. These ultracold neutrons can therefore be stored in an actual bottle made from an appropriate material (such as Nickel or Aluminum).
Another approach is to use magnetic fields to create a potential well (neutrons have a magnetic moment) and to rely on gravity to keep them in that well. Ultracold neutrons behave very much like ping-pong balls and cannot jump very high (less than a few meters) due to their low velocities.
- stcredzero 8y agoare reflected by some materials due to the so-called Fermi pseudo potential Cool! I learned something new today! Ultracold neutrons behave very much like ping-pong balls and cannot jump very high Most of the time. My understanding is that they can tunnel potential barriers, but this isn't that likely to happen in these traps, so it shouldn't affect the results.
- Florin_Andrei 8y agoAnything can tunnel through a potential barrier, the question is how big the barrier is, and what probabilities you expect from this event. When the barrier is big enough, it basically doesn't happen.
- 0xb100db1ade 8y agoCorrect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_tunnelling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_tunnelling