The world's first kiloelectronvolt X-ray laser produces such a high flux of photons that atoms can be 'cored'. In other words, the light source can knock out both the electrons of an atom's innermost ...

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 ...

Physicists have filled in some longtime blank spaces on the periodic table, calculating electron affinities of the lanthanides, a series of 15 elements known as rare earths. Physicists at Michigan ...

The distribution of outermost shell electrons, known as valence electrons, of organic molecules was experimentally observed for the first time by a team led by Nagoya University in Japan. As the ...

Static electricity works because electrons are strongly attracted to protons, right? But, in atoms, electrons are right there, next to the protons in the nucleus. Why don’t the electrons zip directly ...

In this video excerpt from NOVA's "Hunting the Elements," New York Times technology columnist David Pogue examines how atomic structure determines reactivity. Meet Theo Gray, chemist and author, who ...