Since the atomic nucleus was first proposed in 1911, physicists simply assumed it was round. But are the nuclei of atoms really round? Intuitively this shape makes sense and physicists believed it ...

Atoms are very small. They have a radius of around 1 × 10 10 metres. This symbol shows that chlorine has 35 particles in the nucleus (protons and neutrons), 17 of which are protons. It also tells us ...

What do atoms look like? This is actually an impossible question to answer: Atoms are so tiny that we can't see them using light, even looking through the most powerful lenses and microscopes. The ...

This image depicts the radium atom’s pear-shaped nucleus of protons and neutrons in the center, surrounded by a cloud of electrons (yellow), and an electron (yellow ball with arrow) that has a ...

Big problems sometimes come in small packages. The problem with which physicists must now concern themselves measures a mere 0.0350 millionth of a millionth of a millimetre. This is precisely the ...

No one really knows what happens inside an atom. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. No one really knows what happens inside an atom.

Static electricity works because electrons are strongly attracted to protons, right? But, in atoms, electrons are right there, next to the protons in the nucleus. Why don’t the electrons zip directly ...

No one really knows what happens inside an atom. But two competing groups of scientists think they've figured it out. And both are racing to prove that their own vision is correct. Here's what we know ...

Scientists have developed a new method that can help them probe inside atom’s nucleus. Developed by researchers at MIT, the method uses the atom’s own electrons as “messengers” within a molecule to ...