Nuclei show their soft side
Helium-6 is a typical neutron-skin nucleus, with two of the neutrons forming a “skin” around the alpha-particle core. Different types of dynamics are possible in such nuclei. In the soft d...
The many shapes of lead-186
Mark Huyse from the University of Leuven in Belgium and co-workers in Germany, Slovakia, the UK, Finland, Russia, Sweden and Belgium studied lead-186, which contains 82 protons and 104 neutrons. 82 is...
Nuclear treaty review starts in New York
The New York conference is intended to specify a timetable for all the main nuclear powers – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – to abandon their nuclear weapon stockpiles. Delegate...
Physicist queries test-ban evidence to US Senate
Since the US stopped testing in 1992 it has relied on the “stockpile Stewardship” programme to maintain the reliability and safety of its nuclear weapons. But a number of misconceptions we...
UK nuclear lab gets new management
The UK government has been trying for some time to incorporate private-sector practices into government-run research centres. AWE Management replaces Hunting-BRAE, who were awarded a seven-year contra...
AEA looks for winning formula
Benetton recently signed a two-year partnership with AEA Technology, the UK science and engineering services firm. They believe that AEA’s knowledge of materials will make their cars lighter and...
US rejects nuclear test ban treaty
The treaty will only come into effect if the 44 countries that have the capability to develop nuclear weapons ratify it. Although 26 countries, including France and the UK, have ratified the treaty, R...
Doubly magic nickel-48 surprises theorists
The name magic number comes from the shell model of the nucleus. The combined quantum mechanical effects of protons and neutrons in the nucleus can create energy shells similar to the electron energy ...
Read article: Supersymmetry stands the test
Supersymmetry stands the test
An international team of nuclear physicists has found strong evidence for the existence of nuclear supersymmetry, a theory that relates bosons, which have integer values of spin, and fermions, with ha...
Evidence for supersymmetry found
Supersymmetry is an attractive theory to physicists as it provides a connection between all known elementary particles and can simplify many complex interactions. High energy supersymmetry suggests th...
