At the far end of the periodic table is a realm where nothing is quite as it should be. The elements here, starting at atomic number 104 (rutherfordium), have never been found in nature. In fact, they ...

The heaviest element that humans have ever found is called oganesson. Each atom of the stuff packs a whopping 118 protons into its dense center. In contrast, hydrogen—the most abundant element in the ...

The rare radioactive substance made its way from the United States to Russia on a commercial flight in June 2009. Customs officers balked at accepting the package, which was ensconced in lead ...

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are credited in the discovery of 16 of the 118 known elements. Now they’ve completed the crucial first ...

Some of the heaviest atoms in the universe barely exist long enough to be ...

Every atom in our bodies has a long history. These atoms have traveled through stars and countless organisms. When any creature dies, its atoms are released and spread. This means we share our atomic ...

Calculations of the molecule’s magnetic properties show that electrons circulate continuously around the bismuth ring—a key ...

At a large, new facility on Michigan State University's campus, the boundaries of nuclear science are being taken further than they've ever gone before. And scientists from around the world are lining ...

By directing pulses of laser light at atoms, researchers can study how radioactive elements decay in a matter of seconds. The ...

At the start of the new year, nuclear chemists Hiromitsu Haba and Kouji Morimoto slide precisely 119 Japanese yen into the collection box at their local shrine. They are seeking good fortune in their ...