In a random moment, all energy is lost. The unstable subject cannot help but decay, slowly but surely, letting go of particles to become stable. It loses itself to become balanced again. This is a ...

The element radium can be found in extremely tiny amounts in the Earth’s crust and oceans, and in its pure form it is a soft silvery metal. To an untrained eye, a small piece of radium may look like a ...

Gold and other heavy elements are born in some of the universe’s most violent events—but scientists still struggle to understand the nuclear steps that create them. Now, nuclear physicists have ...

The blast is what people imagine. A sudden flash, a rising cloud, the moment when history splits into “before” and “after”. Nuclear disasters and atomic weapons are often pictured as events that ...

Nuclear decay and fusion dynamics constitute central pillars in modern nuclear physics, with implications ranging from energy production and astrophysical phenomena to the synthesis of novel elements.

Outdone only by nuclear fusion, the process of nuclear fission releases enormous amounts of energy. The ‘spicy rocks’ that are at the core of both natural and artificial fission reactors are generally ...

The element radium can be found in extremely tiny amounts in the Earth’s crust and oceans, and in its pure form it is a soft silvery metal. To an untrained eye, a small piece of radium may look like a ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like ...

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. “What is radium and why is it dangerous?” – ...