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 ...

Unstable atoms emit fast-moving particles that can damage cells in the human body. Some atoms are far more unstable than ...

Researchers have been able to initiate a controlled movement in the very heart of an atom. They caused the atomic nucleus to interact with one of the electrons in the outermost shells of the atom.

Some atomic nuclei are thin-skinned — they’re surrounded by a slim shell of neutrons. Physicists now know how thick that neutron skin is for one particular type of nucleus. The skin of lead-208 — a ...

The weak nuclear force doesn't play by the normal rules — and, in fact, it breaks one of the biggest rules of all.

Quantum mechanics explains why the electrons can keep spinning indefinitely. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. An atom is best ...

Physicists in Finland have created a pumpkin-shaped atomic nucleus that throws off protons in a rare kind of radioactive decay. The nucleus, lutetium-149, has the shortest half-life of any of a group ...

Nuclear clocks could allow scientists to probe the fundamental forces of the universe in the future. LMU researchers have made a crucial advance in this area as part of an international collaboration.

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 ...

A new measurement of the strong nuclear force, which binds protons and neutrons together, confirms previous hints of an uncomfortable truth: We still don’t have a solid theoretical grasp of even the ...

Note: This video is designed to help the teacher better understand the lesson and is NOT intended to be shown to students. It includes observations and conclusions that students are meant to make on ...