An atom consists of a heavy center, called the nucleus, made of particles called protons and neutrons. An atom has lighter ...

Electrons are arranged in specific orbitals, outward from an atom’s nucleus, and are designated by their spin, orientation, and energy. Neon has 10 electrons, two in the inner “1s” shell and (like ...

First, let's explore the atom's architecture. Formed from a cluster of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, a nucleus is 10,000 times smaller than the atom as a whole, "like a fly in a ...

The cause of this discrepancy may lie in the complexity of the neon atom, which consists, in addition to the nucleus, of ten electrons.

A new particle accelerator aims to unlock secrets of bizarre atomic nuclei. The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams will help physicists learn how elements form in the distant environs of space ...

This intense incoming light energizes an electron from an inner orbit (or shell) closest to the neon nucleus (center, brown), knocking it totally out of the atom (upper-left, foreground).

More information: Lukas M. Veldman et al, Coherent spin dynamics between electron and nucleus within a single atom, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52270-0 Journal ...

The quantum fix. Famed Danish physicist Niels Bohr was the first person to propose a solution to this issue. In 1913, he suggested that electrons in an atom couldn't just have any orbit they wanted.