By recreating a nuclear fireball, scientists uncovered unexpected chemistry that could change how radioactive fallout is understood. In the first fraction of a second after a nuclear explosion or a major reactor accident, an immense surge of energy superheats the surrounding environment. Nearby materials and air are instantly vaporized, creating a rapidly expanding fireball made [...]

Scientists have demonstrated a new plasma operating regime that could help solve two of fusion energy’s biggest challenges at once. Inside a fusion reactor, matter is heated to temperatures hotter than the Sun and confined by powerful magnetic fields. But keeping this superheated plasma stable long enough to produce usable energy remains one of the [...]

New experiments reveal possible η′-mesic nuclei, offering evidence that particle masses shift inside nuclear matter and shedding light on how mass originates from vacuum structure. Almost everything around us has mass, but its origin is still a fundamental question in physics. Current theory suggests that mass comes from the properties of the vacuum, which is [...]

A new experiment using rare-isotope beams has provided new insight into the origin of proton-rich isotopes known as p-nuclei. Researchers have taken an important step toward solving one of astrophysics’ oldest isotope mysteries: where the rare proton-rich atomic species known as p-nuclei come from. The study was led by Artemis Tsantiri, who conducted the work [...]

Scientists studying particle collisions at CERN have captured new evidence of how quarks move through the early universe’s primordial plasma. In the first instants after the Big Bang, the universe was not filled with atoms, stars, or even protons. It was a searing, trillion-degree mix of quarks and gluons moving at nearly the speed of [...]