For decades, scientists believed that lead-208, a "doubly magic" and highly stable atomic nucleus, was perfectly spherical.

Lead-208 exhibited a prolate deformation, which meant that it lengthened in the direction of its poles (as opposed to oblate, or flattened at the poles). This might sound like an incredibly niche ...

"These results are indicative of a time-averaged prolate deformation for the system," the researchers write in their paper. "Thus, even as a cornerstone of the nuclear landscape, 208 Pb remains a ...

resembling a rugby ball (prolate spheroid). Dr. Jack Henderson, principal investigator of the study from the University of Surrey's School of Mathematics and Physics, said, "We were able to ...

resembling a rugby ball (prolate spheroid). Dr Jack Henderson, principal investigator of the study from the University of Surrey's School of Mathematics and Physics, said: "We were able to combine ...