The origin of magic numbers: Why some atomic nuclei are unusually stable

For the first time, physicists have developed a model that explains the origins of unusually stable magic nuclei based ...
Interesting Engineering on MSN

US-built surrogate reactor-powered LEDs mimic nuclear fission with zero radiation

Scientists in the US have developed a new glowing surrogate nuclear reactor that replaces ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The U.S.’s Only Particle Collider Recreated Moments From the Early Universe. Now, It Has Closed—to Make Way for a New Instrument

For a mere moment after the Big Bang, no neutrons or protons are thought to have existed. These neutral and positively charged particles, respectively, make up the center of all atoms today. But ...

A smashing success: Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider wraps up final collisions

Just after 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, final beams of oxygen ions—oxygen atoms stripped of their electrons—circulated ...