Massive neutron stars colliding in space are thought to be able to create precious metals such as gold and platinum. The properties of these stars are still an enigma, but the answer may lie beneath ...

Since the atomic nucleus was first proposed in 1911, physicists simply assumed it was round. But are the nuclei of atoms really round? Intuitively this shape makes sense and physicists believed it ...

Part of Physics (Single Science) Unit 1: Atomic and nuclear physics Protons and neutrons are the heaviest particles in an atom and as a result they make up most of its mass. The mass of electrons is ...

My nine-year-old is obsessed with atoms and that has extended to questions about what happens when you split them, how does it cause an explosion and can atoms be split in space? What are atoms?

Smashing uranium-238 ions together proves to be a reliable way of imaging their nuclei. High-energy collision experiments reveal nuclear shapes that are strongly elongated and have no symmetry around ...

Atoms are very small. They have a radius of around 1 × 10 10 metres. This symbol shows that chlorine has 35 particles in the nucleus (protons and neutrons), 17 of which are protons. It also tells us ...

A team of researchers at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU) has discovered that cobalt-70 isotopes form different nuclear shapes when their energy levels ...

The pulse of an atom's magnetic heart as it ticks back and forth between quantum states has been timed in a laboratory. Physicists used a scanning tunneling microscope to observe electrons as they ...

Quantum entanglement – once dismissed by Albert Einstein as "spooky action at a distance" – has long captured the public ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...