At the far end of the periodic table is a realm where nothing is quite as it should be. The elements here, starting at atomic number 104 (rutherfordium), have never been found in nature. In fact, they ...

Standard atomic weights, those numbers emblazoned under the elements on the periodic table, were once thought of as unchanging constants of nature. But researchers have tweaked the atomic weights of ...

Why does changing just one proton in the nucleus of an atom create a different element? The number of protons in an atomic ...

For new, human-made heavy elements on the periodic table, being “too ‘big’ for your own good” often means instability and a fleeting existence. The more protons and neutrons scientists squeeze ...

Some of the elements used by living systems are far more abundant in Cassiopeia A than we thought, hinting that some parts of ...