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 “lead” of a pencil is actually made of a substance called graphite which is made of carbon atoms. The picture shows a close-up of one carbon atom. A hydrogen atom has one proton as the nucleus and ...

The structure of a neutron or a proton is modified when the particle is bound in an atomic nucleus. Experimental data suggest an explanation for this phenomenon that could have broad implications for ...

Look around you (or, if you’re sight impaired, touch something). Everything solid, liquid, or gas that you see and feel is made of matter. We sometimes call it “normal” matter, though with dark matter ...

Protons in neutron-rich nuclei have a higher average energy than previously thought, according to a new analysis of electron scattering data that was first collected in 2004. The research appears to ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. The story of our cosmic history is one of an expanding and cooling ...

Scientists have used high-energy particle collisions to peer inside protons, the particles that sit inside the nuclei of all ...

Before you submit an error, please consult our Video Help page. Science Trek is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, ...

Inscribed on an Italian family’s 15th century coat of arms and decorating an ancient Japanese shrine, the Borromean rings are symbolically potent. Remove one ring from the trio of linked circles and ...

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 ...

"With evidence that quarks and gluons are entangled, this picture has changed. We have a much more complicated, dynamic system." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...