Word: argonant
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...solar neutrinos hit each square centimeter (.155 sq. in.) of the earth's surface every second. They have no effect that is normally detectable, but if they happen to collide with atoms of chlorine 37, a small fraction of the collisions results in the manu facture of radioactive argon 37. When it occurs, this rare reaction gives Dr. Davis a chance to count solar neutrinos...
Firmer Figure. To detect these few hits, a stream of helium will bubble through the tank, sweeping any argon 37 and carrying it to a charcoal filter. Then a special instrument will count the argon atoms by means of their radioactivity. Their number will be in direct proportion to the total number of neutrinos emitted...
...making it prosper. By compressing air until it liquefies, the industry extracts various gases whose temperatures are close to absolute zero ( - 460° F.). It has thus created a spectrum of uses for rare gases whose inertness, heavy atomic weights and unique electrical properties make them invaluable servants: argon for welding, krypton for long-lasting light bulbs, and xenon for high-intensity lights such as those used at airports. Even the more common gases are moving into new fields. In the next few months a big food processor will announce that it is flash-freezing fruits and vegetables with liquid...
Oldest Man. Atomic physics, says Brothwell in the current issue of Discovery magazine, can take a large share of the credit. When a manlike creature, Zinjanthropus, was discovered in East Africa three years ago, geologists from the University of California, using a potassium-argon isotope dating system, were able to show that flat-browed Zinjanthropus lived some 1,750,000 years back in prehistory, the oldest manlike animal yet found. By measuring the amount of potassium 40 and its decay product, argon 40, in a digger's find, scientists conceivably can fix an object...
Even more exciting is the possibility of using the MHD system with a nuclear reactor. In this case the gas will probably be argon or helium, laced with cesium to make it more conductive. It will circulate through the reactor, then through the generator and back to the reactor again. This system will have to wait for the development of high-temperature reactor cores, but Project Rover, the Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear-rocket program, has shown that the prospects of this are promising...