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 ...

Mrs Roberts: What do you think you're made of? Mr Spellman: Big question. Grit, determination, hard-working, handsome, charming, funny. Mrs Roberts: Well, I guess. But you're actually made of atoms.

The stuff you scrape off burnt toast is made primarily of atoms of carbon. But what makes up a carbon atom—or any other atom? The first subatomic particle to be identified was the electron, in 1898.

The atomic nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons, particles that exist through the interaction of quarks bonded by gluons. It would seem, therefore, that it should not be difficult to reproduce ...

For surfers, it's not enough just to wait for the right wave: they still have to know how to catch it. As it turns out, one challenge faced by surfers also applies to protons. An experiment recently ...

Effective theorists: Sonia Bacca (left), Bijaya Acharya (centre) and Joanna Sobczyk. (Courtesy: Sabrina Hopp/Angelika Stehle) The interaction between an electron and a calcium-40 nucleus has been ...

Right now, in our atmosphere, there are countless numbers of nitrogen atoms floating high above the Earth's surface. These atoms are, in a sense, vulnerable. Cosmic radiation, in the form of neutrons, ...

Some atomic nuclei are thin-skinned — they’re surrounded by a slim shell of neutrons. Physicists now know how thick that neutron skin is for one particular type of nucleus. The skin of lead-208 — a ...