The ancient Greeks speculated that it might be air, fire or water. A century ago, physicists felt sure it was the atom. Today, we believe that the deepest layer of reality is populated by a diverse ...

Stress is a very real factor in the structure of our universe. Not the kind of stress that students experience when taking a ...

The standard model of particle physics represents the most comprehensive theory about fundamental or subatomic particles and forces in the universe. The model describes how matter and antimatter ...

The stuff you scrape off burnt toast is made primarily of atoms of carbon. But what makes up a carbon atom—or any other atom? The first subatomic particle to be identified was the electron, in 1898.

Doug Cowen is a professor of astronomy, astrophysics and physics at Pennsylvania State University; Derek Fox is an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University; ...

They say you can never trust an atom because they make up everything. This week, we’re shrinking down and getting literally into the heart of the matter. We’ve covered the periodic table and all its ...

This lesson utilizes an adaptation of the board game Subatomic: An Atom Building Game to help students learn about the different parts that make up an atom. During their turn, players can choose to ...

The isotope lead-208 was predicted to be extremely stable and perfectly spherical because of the “magic” numbers of electrons and protons orbiting its nucleus. When researchers blasted lead-208 with ...

To peer into the heart of the sun, a 13.7-meter-wide stainless steel shell lined with over 2,200 light-gathering sensors hides deep under a mountain in central Italy. Known as the Borexino experiment, ...

CERN, the world’s largest atom smasher, says it has observed three new "exotic particles" while carrying out its third run of collisions. After a three-year pause for maintenance and routine checks, ...

Numerous subatomic particles buzzing about in a quantum storm contribute to a nucleus's overall spin, though the flip-flop of the collective spins as they adopt a configuration is easily influenced by ...