Some nuclei of certain elements decay radioactively into nuclei of different elements. These decays can be useful or annoying depending on the context. This is especially true for potassium-40. This ...

Most nuclear energy is thermal. All that complex nuclear physics and chemistry serve merely to create steam that spins a turbine, the same as any combustion-based power plant does. But what if you ...

The element radium can be found in extremely tiny amounts in the Earth’s crust and oceans, and in its pure form it is a soft silvery metal. To an untrained eye, a small piece of radium may look like a ...

For the first time in more than thirty years, the heaviest nucleus decaying via proton emission has been measured. The previous similar breakthrough was achieved in 1996. The radioactive decay of ...

Alpha decay represents a fundamental mode of radioactive disintegration wherein an unstable nucleus emits an alpha particle—a tightly bound cluster of two protons and two neutrons. This process not ...

From mysterious dark matter to the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei, the past 12 months have reiterated just how strange particle physics can be. When you purchase through links on our site, we may ...

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is leading two nuclear physics research projects within the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing, or SciDAC, program from the Department of Energy Office of ...

Atomic nuclei exhibit a complex interplay of structure and dynamics that underpins much of nuclear physics. The arrangement of protons and neutrons into specific configurations gives rise to quantised ...

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

Although most people are probably familiar with the different energy levels that the electron shells of atoms can be in and how electrons shedding excess energy as they return to a lower state emit ...

Researchers at Mainz University and the University of California, Berkeley, have achieved a breakthrough in zero-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, paving the way towards benchmarking ...

The strongest force in the Universe is the one that holds together the protons and neutrons in an atom’s nucleus. To unlock how elements are forged, the physics of neutron stars and more, scientists ...