Cesium detected in the atmosphere of a hot white dwarf

By analyzing the data from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered cesium in the atmosphere of a hot white dwarf known as HD 149499B. The finding, reported ...

Challenging the big bang puzzle of heavy elements

It has long been theorized that hydrogen, helium, and lithium were the only chemical elements in existence during the Big Bang when the universe formed, and that supernova explosions, stars exploding at the end of their lifetime, ...

Grabbing magic tin by the tail

Atomic nuclei have only two ingredients, protons and neutrons, but the relative number of these ingredients makes a radical difference in their properties. Certain configurations of protons and neutrons, with "magic numbers" ...

Potassium nucleus loses some of its magic

A new study at ISOLDE finds no signature of a "magic" number of neutrons in potassium-51, challenging the proposed magic nature of nuclei with 32 neutrons.

Nuclear physicist's voyage toward a mythical island

Theories were introduced as far back as the 1960s about the possible existence of superheavy elements. Their most long-lived nuclei could give rise to a so-called "island of stability" far beyond the element uranium. However, ...

A special elemental magic

A staple in every science classroom is the periodic table of elements, and for many it is their first introduction to the vast mysteries of the natural world.

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