The word magic is not often used in the context of science. But in the early 1930s, scientists discovered that some atomic ...

The word magic is not often used in the context of science. But in the early 1930s, scientists discovered that some atomic nuclei—the center part of atoms, which make up all matter—were more ...

It is therefore termed “doubly magic” and is extremely stable. Other magic numbers include 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 and 126. However, there are significant exceptions to this shell model of the nucleus and ...

A nucleus holds a magic number of protons or neutrons when the particles completely fill its shells without any room left for adding more, rendering it stable and longer-lived than other nuclei ...

Scientists have shown that 34 is a ''magic number'' for neutrons, meaning that atomic nuclei with 34 neutrons are more stable than would normally be expected. Earlier experiments had suggested ...

Magic numbers and nuclei shapes Similar to how noble gases represent stable electronic configurations, magic and doubly magic nuclei result in stable nuclei. These "magic numbers" are 2, 8, 20, 28 ...

Nuclei that contain magic numbers of both protons and neutrons are even more stable and are said to be “doubly magic”. The magic numbers are 2, 8, 20, 28, 50 and 82. However, it had been thought that ...

When a nucleus has a ‘magic’ number of neutrons or protons, it is particularly stable. But it seems that for exotic nuclei, with large numbers of neutrons relative to protons, these magic ...

Atomic nuclei with full outer shells are bound extra tightly, making them very stable. Shells fill up when they hit two, eight, 20, 28, 50, 82 and 126 subatomic particles ( SN: 10/9/13) .

Early theoretical predictions suggested that the extra stability from the next "magic" numbers, far from nuclei known at that time, might lead to lifetimes comparable to the age of the Earth.

The word magic is not often used in the context of science. But in the early 1930s, scientists discovered that some atomic nuclei — the center part of atoms, which make up all matter — were more ...

These nuclei had specific numbers of protons or neutrons, or magic numbers, as physicist Eugene Wigner called them. Maria Goeppert Mayer won the 1963 Nobel Prize in physics. Argonne National ...