Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An abstract illustration of ...

Humans often seek easy answers and shortcuts. This is not always a flaw, but a form of efficiency. So, it’s no surprise that we want a ‘magic’ answer to one of the biggest financial decisions we need ...

Some atoms are stable, while others seem to fall apart. Lead-208 will probably last forever, while the synthetic isotope technetium-99 exists for just hours. The difference lies in the structure of ...

For the first time, physicists have developed a model that explains the origins of unusually stable magic nuclei based directly on the interactions between their protons and neutrons. Published in ...

Why do some elements decay in minutes, while others last billions of years? Certain "magic numbers" of nuclear particles may make all the difference. When you purchase through links on our site, we ...