Many heavy atomic nuclei are shaped more or less like squashed rugby balls than fully inflated ones, according to a ...

For the first time, the state of an atomic nucleus was switched with a laser. For decades, physicists have been looking for such a nuclear transition -- now it has been found. This opens up a new ...

This image depicts the radium atom’s pear-shaped nucleus of protons and neutrons in the center, surrounded by a cloud of electrons (yellow), and an electron (yellow ball with arrow) that has a ...

MIT scientists used radium monofluoride atom to observe electrons entering atomic nuclei, revealing new details of nuclear magnetism.

A novel experiment has revealed a phenomenon called the Bohr–Weisskopf effect in a pear-shaped nucleus in a molecule for the ...

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 ...

A team of physicists say they have created the first coherent picture of atomic nuclei from their composite particles, quarks and gluons. The 20th century was a pretty busy hundred years for particle ...

Findings in nuclear physics theory have received several Nobel Prizes (1975-nucleus vibrations and rotations, 1963-nuclear shell model, 1949-meson exchange model of nuclear forces). Despite these ...

A researcher stands behind a metal pipe covered with electrical cords and gauges. A researcher works on a device at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. This part of the facility provides low-energy ...

Nuclear science is many things: it’s powerful, it’s potentially dangerous, and it’s ultimately still not totally understood by scientists — at least when it comes to its constituent parts. Controlling ...

Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated film "Oppenheimer" is out, bringing with it a renewed interest in everything nuclear physics. The film dramatizes the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and his work ...