Understanding the origin of heavy elements on the periodic table is one of the most challenging open problems in all of physics. In the search for conditions suitable for these elements via ...

Elements that do not exist in nature—that have been created in a laboratory—are unstable. After hours or days of one element bombarding another with enough energy for both to fuse, the resulting new ...

Finding fakes Illustration of how neutrons can pass easily through the metallic regions of an old coin, but are blocked by hydrogen-bearing compounds formed by corrosion. (Courtesy: S Kelley/NIST) The ...