A recent experiment in Germany studied the helium-4 nucleus, also known as an alpha particle. Helium-4 consists of only two protons and two neutrons , making it relatively easy to describe using ...

Uranium decay series. When U-238 decays into Th-234 (upper left), it liberates an alpha particle, which is a helium nucleus. The particle quickly picks up two electrons, creating a new atom of helium.

Theoretical calculations predict a complex excited state (0+) for helium-4 (4He) at the 20.21 MeV energy level. This state involves a coupling of three cluster configurations: hydrogen-3 and a ...

Carbon is essential for life on Earth and is created via nuclear fusion within red-giant stars. In what is known as the triple-alpha reaction, one helium nucleus (alpha particle) joins to another to ...

Helium is the second most abundant element in the Universe, after hydrogen. The nucleus of its most common isotope, helium-4, consists of two protons and two neutrons and is called the α-particle.

An alpha particle is also a helium-4 nucleus. ... After emitting an alpha or beta particle, the nucleus will often still be ‘excited’ and will need to lose energy. End of image gallery.

The group is publishing its results today in the renowned scientific journal Nature("The alpha particle charge radius from laser spectroscopy of the muonic helium-4 ion"). According to their findings, ...

The 94 Sr(alpha,n) 97 Zr reaction. To obtain this information, Williams and colleagues studied a reaction in which radioactive strontium-94 absorbs an alpha particle (a helium nucleus), then emits a ...

Helium is the simplest element in the periodic table with more than one particle in its nucleus, yet state of the art theory and experiments on it don't add up.