A research team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a new method to uncover the atomic origins of unusual ...

Plutonium has captured the attention of scientists since its discovery in the early 1940s. This enigmatic element has an ...

The idea of the atom as the building block of matter has developed over time. What was thought of as a single particle about 1 × 10‾¹º m across is now known to be a collection of smaller particles.

A chemical bond between a superheavy element and a carbon atom has been established for the first time. This research opens new vistas for studying the effects of Einstein's relativity on the ...

Why do some elements decay in minutes, while others last billions of years? Certain "magic numbers" of nuclear particles may ...

A Popular Science columnist has transformed the prosaic periodic table into a drop-dead gorgeous coffee-table book. Each of the first 100 elements gets a stunning spread with a brief bio, including ...

GALLIUM IS an unusual element. It is a light, silvery metal, similar to aluminium. But unlike aluminium, if you hit it with a hammer it shatters like glass. It melts at about 30°C—in your hand, or ...

Measurements of an artificial radioactive element called lawrencium could revive an arcane controversy over the element’s position in the periodic table — and the structure of the table itself. An ...