Does the proton decay? While this was a famous prediction of Grand Unified Theories (GUTS) developed in the 1970s and 1980s, experimentalists have ruled it out—or rather, put lower limits on its mean ...

Scientists have observed a brand-new and exotic atomic nucleus: aluminium-20. Unlike anything seen before, it decays through a stunning three-proton emission sequence, shedding light on nuclear ...

Radioactive decay is a fundamental process in nature by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. Studying nuclear decay modes is crucial for understanding properties of atomic ...

A research team at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is the first ever to observe a beta-delayed neutron emission from fluorine-25, a rare, unstable nuclide. Using the FRIB Decay Station ...

A research collaboration between the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams recently ran an experiment that sheds light on the forces holding together atomic nuclei ...

How long do free neutrons live until they decay? This has been a hotly debated topic, because different measurement techniques lead to different results. A possible new solution has now been proposed: ...

How long does a free neutron really live before it decays? This simple question has annoyed physicists for decades. Moreover, when they searched for an answer, they found not one but two confusing ...

Researchers may have just spotted the elusive, ephemeral nucleus of nitrogen-9 for the first time. With seven protons and two neutrons, the lopsided atomic nucleus of nitrogen-9 pushes the limits of ...

AT SOME point in our lives, most of us learn that atoms are comprised of three types of particle: neutrons, protons and electrons. Each has distinct properties. The electron and proton have opposite ...

Mirror magic: The "cores" of the exotic nuclei oxygen-22 and silicon-22 both resemble that of oxygen-16, with eight protons and eight neutrons. The neutron-rich oxygen isotope contains an additional ...