When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Scientists have long wondered whether there is a limit to the number of protons and neutrons that ...

Individual protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei turn out not to behave according to the predictions made by existing theoretical models. This surprising conclusion, reached by an international team ...

For most atomic nuclei, the maximum number of neutrons that can be bound is unknown. The discovery of two neutron-rich nuclei — and the confirmed absence of others — might help solve this conundrum.

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According to the classical model of nuclear structure, the internal structure of nucleons should not change if they are bound into atomic nuclei. But it was discovered 35 years ago that quarks inside ...

The proton number (Z) of an atom is the number of protons it contains. All the atoms of a particular element have the same proton number (number of protons). The atoms of different elements have ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

Scientists have shown that 34 is a ''magic number'' for neutrons, meaning that atomic nuclei with 34 neutrons are more stable than would normally be expected. Earlier experiments had suggested, but ...

For example, the atomic number of chlorine is 17. Every chlorine atom has 17 protons and 17 electrons. It has 17 positive charges and 17 negative charges, meaning that it is neutral overall. Atoms of ...