Physicists have discovered a surprising new “Island of Inversion” in a place no one expected: among nuclei where the number ...

A research team is using astrophysical explosions to understand the mysterious forces at work in some of the smallest ...

Physicists working with molybdenum-84, a nucleus containing exactly 42 protons and 42 neutrons, have found that this seemingly balanced atom defies one of nuclear physics’ longest-standing ...

For the first time, physicists have developed a model that explains the origins of unusually stable magic nuclei based directly on the interactions between their protons and neutrons. Published in ...

The protons and neutrons that build the nucleus of the atom frequently pair up. Now, a new high-precision experiment has found that these particles may pick different partners depending on how packed ...

A new study carried out at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has confirmed that increasing the number of neutrons as compared to protons in the atom's nucleus ...

Protons in neutron-rich nuclei have a higher average energy than previously thought, according to a new analysis of electron scattering data that was first collected in 2004. The research appears to ...

Researchers at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) in the US have discovered that when spinning protons collide with nuclei they produce neutrons that fly-off ...

In an atomic nucleus, protons and neutrons presumably dance around in twosomes, like couples at a grand ball. This hypothetical pairing, which is supported by experimental evidence, enables physicists ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. The story of our cosmic history is one of an expanding and cooling ...