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The measurement was already confirmed by a different group: https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.12311

This is important since impurities in the crystals used lead to all kinds of fluorescence that could be mistaken for a signal from the Thorium ions. Now two groups have seen exactly the same signal in different Thorium-doped crystals which is very covincing that they have found the actual nuclear transition.



I find it satisfying to see a researcher called THORsten SchUMm devoting his research to THORiUM.


Nominative determinism :-)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism


Frequency illusion :-P

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion


Not completely. Can't find it now, but there was research cited in the book Alex's Adventures in Numberland showing a real statistical deviation, example: Lawrences' studying Law school more frequently.


Lol that's a comic book name if I ever heard one. He's only one lab accident away from becoming a super hero/villain.


But then I'm only a name change and a lab accident away. And a name change isn't that hard...


It doesn't work with name changes, unfortunately.


And he's working with a dangerous radioactive isotope!


We’re so close! Send some spiders into the reaction chamber!


no, we need radioactive hammer.


For what it’s worth, the names of both the element and the researcher do in fact refer to the Norse god of thunder Thor.


Even better, Thorsten = Thor's stone!


In a country where breeding and burning thorium to generate energy is illegal :/


I went looking for an arXiv link for this paper and found the one you linked.

Kind of weird that this new paper is only on the group's website [1] and not on the arXiv.

[1]: https://www.tuwien.at/fileadmin/Assets/tu-wien/News/2024/Tho...


Thanks for that, I wondered if it had been confirmed.

I am always in awe of folks who come into the lab every day and work on figuring out the one thing. I envy that level of focus.


Who will claim priority now?


As I understand it, that is not an independent discovery but rather replication/confirmation of the results described in the original 14th of March paper by PTB & TU Wien.




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