Physicists have measured a nuclear reaction that can occur in neutron star collisions, providing direct experimental data for a process that had previously only been theorised. The study, led by the ...

(Courtesy: HZDR / blrck.de) Something extraordinary happened on Earth around 10 million years ago, and whatever it was, it left behind a “signature” of radioactive beryllium-10. This finding, which is ...

Alpha particles come from the nucleus of a radioactive atom. They consist of 2 protons and 2 neutrons; hence have a 2+ charge. A few centimeters of air will stop them. Alpha radiation consists of ...

^{4}\textrm{He}\) When a radioactive atom emits an alpha particle the mass number decreases by four and the atomic number drops by two. Here is the equation for the alpha decay of radon-219 into ...