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Abstract
Nuclear energy levels are characterized in part by their isospin quantum numbers. Ordinary nuclides are well described by an independent-particle model with ground-state isospins equal to the minimum possible value Tmin = abs(A/2 - Z). It has been suggested that extremely neutron rich nuclei constitute a second branch of the table of isotopes whose ground states have the maximum possible isospin Tmax = A/2 and that neutral members of the Tmax branch (i.e., polyneutrons) serve as mediating particles for the new class of nuclear reactions discovered by Fleischmann and Pons. The energetics of the new reactions have been qualitatively described by a liquid-drop model. Recent measurements of the mass spectrum of reaction products produced in the new reactions make possible a refinement of the model, providing an explanation for gaps of instability separating ranges of stability in the mass spectrum.