Scientists directly detect one of rarest argon isotopes

A concept image of argon-39 and argon-42 in gaseous form. PIC COURTESY/Vilnis Husko

In a world filled with trillions upon trillions of atoms, spotting a handful that barely exist sounds almost impossible.

Atoms of argon-42, one of the rarest isotopes in Earth's atmosphere, present at just one part in 10²¹, fall in the same category.

For years, this isotope showed up only indirectly. Now, researchers have captured it directly, atom by atom.

Until now, the main method for studying rare isotopes has been accelerator mass spectrometry, but even this technique fails when it comes to spotting argon-42.

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