Solar Mystery

The finding that the rate of radioactive decay of elements may actually be influenced by solar activity has scientists searching for answers.

Few scientific discoveries in recent times have been as perplexing. The rate of radioactive decay of certain elements has long been held to be a constant, and provides us with an accurate means of clocking time. According to a Stanford University press release, ‘Ephraim Fischbach, a physics professor at Purdue, was looking into the rate of radioactive decay of several isotopes as a possible source of random numbers generated without any human input. (A material may decay at a steady rate overall, but individual atoms within the lump will decay in an unpredictable, random pattern.)’ 

Sifting through, researchers found long-term seasonal variation in the decay rate of silicon-32 and radium-226. The decay rate was faster in winter than in summer. The connection with solar activity was then made when on 13 December 2006, ‘a solar flare sent a stream of particles and radiation toward Earth. Purdue nuclear engineer Jere Jenkins, noticed the decay rate of manganese-54 dropped slightly during the flare, a decrease that started about a day and a half before the flare. Going back to take another look at the data, the researchers found a recurring pattern of 33 days. This was a surprise, given that most solar observations show a pattern of about 28 days—the rotation rate of the surface of the sun. The explanation? The core of the sun—where nuclear reactions produce neutrinos—apparently spins more slowly than the surface we see.  The evidence suggests the sun is ‘communicating’ with radioactive isotopes on Earth through neutrinos …’

“It doesn’t make sense according to conventional ideas,” Fischbach said. Jenkins whimsically added, “What we’re suggesting is that something that doesn’t really interact with anything is changing something that can’t be changed.” Alternately, the mysterious particle responsible for the interaction may be entirely new. In either case, some exciting science lies ahead.

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Hartosh Singh Bal