Atomic nuclei are often described as orderly systems. Certain numbers of protons or neutrons, called magic numbers, usually produce especially stable and spherical nuclei. These numbers fill entire ...

For the first time, physicists have developed a model that explains the origins of unusually stable magic nuclei based directly on the interactions between their protons and neutrons. Published in ...

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 ...

Scientists have managed to uncover a new magic number that could help us rethink and redefine the origins of everything that exists in our Universe. A team of physicists at the Institute of Modern ...

Schematic figure of the experimental setup. (a) A Mo-92 beam impinges on a primary beryllium target, producing several nuclides, including Mo-86. The secondary beam then collides with a secondary ...