Protons are tiny particles just a femtometer across, but without them, atoms wouldn't exist. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Atomic nuclei, composed of protons and neutrons, hide quarks and gluons at their core. These latter particles, still challenging to study, have long eluded scientists. In the mid-20th century, ...

Look around you (or, if you’re sight impaired, touch something). Everything solid, liquid, or gas that you see and feel is made of matter. We sometimes call it “normal” matter, though with dark matter ...

The “lead” of a pencil is actually made of a substance called graphite which is made of carbon atoms. The picture shows a close-up of one carbon atom. A hydrogen atom has one proton as the nucleus and ...

The journey of the elements starts in the earliest moments of the Big Bang, when our universe was only a few seconds to a few minutes old. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an ...

Atoms are the fundamental components of matter, made up of three subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. The structure of atoms determines the properties and behavior of different ...

Scientists are holding up a 'mirror' to protons and neutrons to learn more about the particles that build our visible universe. The MARATHON experiment has accessed new details about these particles' ...

Among atomic particles, the neutron seems the most aptly named: Unlike the positively charged proton or the negatively charged electron, neutrons have a charge of zero. But new experiments conducted ...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Examining the smallest parts of the universe often takes the biggest kinds of equipment. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a unique piece of equipment the size of a building is ...