Scientists have long wondered whether there is a limit to the number of protons and neutrons that can be clustered together to form the nucleus of an atom. A new study comes closer than ever to ...

Scientists have released the most detailed analysis yet of how protons and neutrons acquire their mass, solving a ...

In this video, we explore the existence of neutrons and their transformation into protons. We discuss why free neutrons are unstable and the significance of mass in particle stability. Key topics ...

A study of bound protons and neutrons has allowed scientists, for the first time, to extract information through experimentation about the internal structure of free neutrons, without the assistance ...

Physicists have found the strongest sign yet of a fabled four of a kind. For six decades, researchers have hunted for clusters of four neutrons called tetraneutrons. But evidence for their existence ...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Examining the smallest parts of the universe often takes the biggest kinds of equipment. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a unique piece of equipment the size of a building is ...

According to the classical model of nuclear structure, the internal structure of nucleons should not change if they are bound into atomic nuclei. But it was discovered 35 years ago that quarks inside ...

The nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus, more than 70 years old, stays firmly in place now that researchers from CERN’s nuclear physics facility ISOLDE have shown that the series of magic ...

For most atomic nuclei, the maximum number of neutrons that can be bound is unknown. The discovery of two neutron-rich nuclei — and the confirmed absence of others — might help solve this conundrum.

HEISENBERG has discussed the hypothesis that the nucleus of an atom is composed of neutrons and protons only, the neutron being regarded as a fundamental entity and not as a combination of an electron ...