One of the great successes of 20th-century physics was the quantum mechanical description of solids. This allowed scientists to understand for the first time how and why certain materials conduct ...

Kaonic atoms and nuclei offer a unique experimental and theoretical platform for probing the low-energy regime of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). In these systems, a negatively charged kaon replaces an ...

Physicists have been hoping for this moment for a long time: For many years, scientists all around the world have been searching for a very specific state of thorium atomic nuclei that promises ...

Researchers at ETH Zurich have shown, for the first time with very high time and spatial resolution, that electrons in ...

Scientists have precisely measured two unstable atomic nuclei that play a crucial role in explosive X-ray bursts on neutron ...

At the far end of the periodic table is a realm where nothing is quite as it should be. The elements here, starting at atomic number 104 (rutherfordium), have never been found in nature. In fact, they ...

At the start of the new year, nuclear chemists Hiromitsu Haba and Kouji Morimoto slide precisely 119 Japanese yen into the collection box at their local shrine. They are seeking good fortune in their ...

For the first time, quarks and gluons were used to describe properties of atomic nuclei, which until now had been explained by the existence of protons and neutrons. The temporary pair of correlated ...

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected]. For the first time, physicists peer inside the ...

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 ...

Why do some elements decay in minutes, while others last billions of years? Certain "magic numbers" of nuclear particles may make all the difference. When you purchase through links on our site, we ...