  Current theory regarding heavy element nucleosynthesis in metal-poor
environments states that the r-process would be dominant. The star HD140283 has
been the subject of debate after it appeared in some studies to be dominated by
the s-process. We provide an independent measure of the Ba isotope mixture in
HD140283 using an extremely high quality spectrum and an extensive chi^2
analysis. We exploit hyperfine splitting of the BaII 4554 \AA\ and 4934 \AA\
resonance lines in an effort to constrain the isotope ratio in 1D LTE. Using
the code ATLAS in conjunction with KURUCZ06 model atmospheres we analyse 93 Fe
lines to determine the star's macroturbulence. With this information we
construct a grid of Ba synthetic spectra and, using a \chi^2 code, fit these to
our observed data to determine the isotopic ratio, fodd, which represents the
ratio of odd to even isotopes. We also analyse the Eu lines. We set a new upper
limit of the rotation of HD140283 at vsin{i}\leq3.9\kms, a new upper limit on
[Eu/H] < -2.80 and abundances [Fe/H] = -2.59\pm0.09, [Ba/H] = -3.46\pm0.11.
This leads to a new lower limit on [Ba/Eu] > -0.66. We find that, in the
framework of a 1D LTE analysis, the isotopic ratios of Ba in HD140283 indicate
fodd=0.02\pm0.06, a purely s-process signature. This implies that observations
and analysis do not validate currently accepted theory. We speculate that a 1D
code, due to simplifying assumptions, is not adequate when dealing with
observations with high levels of resolution and S/N because of the turbulent
motions associated with a 3D stellar atmosphere. New approaches to analysing
isotopic ratios, in particular 3D hydrodynamics, need to be considered when
dealing with the levels of detail required to properly determine them. However
published 3D results exacerbate the disagreement between theory and
observation.
