Nuclear physics is a research area focused on the structure, dynamics, and interactions of atomic nuclei and their constituent nucleons, governed primarily by the strong and weak nuclear forces within the framework of quantum many-body and quantum field theories. It investigates phenomena such as nuclear binding, excitations, decay modes, and reactions, including fission, fusion, and nucleosynthesis. The field encompasses experimental and theoretical studies of stable and exotic nuclei, hadronic matter under extreme conditions, and the emergence of collective behavior from underlying nucleon–nucleon interactions, often employing accelerators, detectors, and advanced computational methods to probe fundamental properties of nuclear systems and refine effective interaction models.
Incorporated into every aspect of everyday life, the neutron is a fundamental particle of nature. Now, a research collaboration led by Los Alamos National Laboratory has improved the precision of free neutron lifetime measurements. ...
General Physics
Aug 4, 2025
104
221
Though atomic nuclei are often depicted as static clusters of protons and neutrons (nucleons), the particles are actually bustling with movement. Thus, the nucleons carry a range of momenta. Sometimes, these nucleons may ...
General Physics
Jul 31, 2025
0
57
The alchemist's dream is to make gold from common metals, but can this be done? The physics needed to explain how to change one element into another is well understood and has been used for decades in accelerators and colliders, ...
Plasma Physics
Jul 28, 2025
0
90
In nuclear physics, "magic numbers" identify specific numbers of protons or neutrons that lead to especially stable nuclei. Recognizing these numbers helps scientists better understand the structure of nuclei.
General Physics
Jul 9, 2025
0
340
Solving life's great mysteries often requires detective work, using observed outcomes to determine their cause. For instance, nuclear physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility ...
General Physics
Jun 25, 2025
0
55
A Los Alamos collaboration has replicated an important but largely forgotten physics experiment: the first deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion observation. As described in the article published in Physical Review C, the reworking ...
Plasma Physics
Jun 25, 2025
2
404
Theories must stand up to practical testing, and this is especially true in physics. Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Texas A&M University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University of Surrey ...
General Physics
Jun 17, 2025
0
34
In recent months, the viability of France's nuclear arsenal has been making headlines with talk of a French "nuclear umbrella" that might shield its allies on the European continent. In the face of the Russia-Ukraine war, ...
Environment
Jun 14, 2025
0
70
A team of researchers at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU) has discovered that cobalt-70 isotopes form different nuclear shapes when their energy levels differ only slightly. The ...
General Physics
Jun 9, 2025
0
210
For the first time in almost 30 years, the heaviest nucleus decaying via proton emission has been measured. The previous similar breakthrough was achieved in 1996.
General Physics
Jun 4, 2025
0
438
