An international team of researchers recently measured the lifetime of a neutron outside of an atomic nucleus with extraordinary precision. By their measurements, the neutron survived for 14.629 ...

Understanding the origin of heavy elements on the periodic table is one of the most challenging open problems in all of physics. In the search for conditions suitable for these elements via ...

The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.--Carl Sagan Almost all ...

In the course of observations of the neutrons produced by the bombardment of elements with accelerated heavy hydrogen ions, we have noticed repeatedly the production of remarkably strong ionising ...

New research has enhanced scientists' understanding of how free neutrons decay into other particles. The work provides the first measurement of the energy spectrum of the photons that are released in ...

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 ...

The recent discovery of elements 113 and 115 will tell us more about the structure of the nucleus and the possible existence of the “island of stability”. The heaviest elements The periodic table of ...

On October 10, 2006, Ken Moody answered selected viewer questions about the ongoing quest to forge new chemical elements and the search for a so-called Island of Stability. Please note we are no ...

Finding fakes Illustration of how neutrons can pass easily through the metallic regions of an old coin, but are blocked by hydrogen-bearing compounds formed by corrosion. (Courtesy: S Kelley/NIST) The ...