If you hit an atom’s nucleus hard enough, it will fall apart. But exactly how it falls apart tells us something about the internal structure of the nucleus and perhaps about the interior of neutron ...

The word magic is not often used in the context of science. But in the early 1930s, scientists discovered that some atomic nuclei—the center part of atoms, which make up all matter—were more stable ...

Basic Knowledge Episode 2This is the second episode of "Universe from Zero," a series that explains the most fundamental ...

In 1913, Niels Bohr suggested that electrons orbited the nucleus in different energy levels (called shells close shellAn energy level around the nucleus where electrons can be found orbiting.). This ...

In this segment, students build models of atoms as they learn about characteristics of electrons. They also explore how quantum levels affect fireworks by performing a flame test. Obtain, evaluate, ...

Since the discovery of radioactivity in the 19th century, humanity has been forced to reckon with an uncomfortable but sobering truth: much of the matter we find today will eventually decay away. This ...

The Standard Model. What a dull name for the most accurate scientific theory known to human beings. More than a quarter of the Nobel Prizes in physics of the last century are direct inputs to or ...

The newest, heaviest element has been confirmed under laboratory conditions, and its synthesis could help produce even heavier cousins with all-new useful properties. Share on Facebook (opens in a new ...

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 ...