Most of the universe is made up of hydrogen and helium atoms, which came into being after the Big Bang cooled down a little. Heavier atoms are formed during high-energy collisions in stars.

An atom consists of a heavy center, called the nucleus, made of particles called protons and neutrons. An atom has lighter ...

Now, most of the atoms in the universe are the two simplest kinds: hydrogen, which has one proton, zero neutrons and one electron; and helium, which has two protons, two neutrons and two electrons.

The photoelectric effect, first explained in 1905, transformed our understanding of how light interacts with matter. When high-energy light hits atoms, it knocks electrons loose.

But axions were pushed aside as the WIMPs hypothesis gained more steam. Back-of-the-envelope calculations showed that the natural mass range of the WIMP would precisely match the abundances needed to ...

The question of where atoms come from requires a lot of physics to be answered completely – and even then, physicists only have good guesses to explain how some atoms are formed.

The Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Germany set a record with 43 seconds of plasma, marking a major step toward clean, ...

Scientists discover new electronic states in graphene that could pave the way for more efficient, error-free quantum computers.

TAU Systems, the developer of next-generation ultrafast laser-plasma accelerators, today announced the collaboration with ...

How do more massive atoms form? So, the hydrogen and helium atoms formed during recombination, when the cooler temperature allowed electrons to fall into orbits.

A new silicon material switches from insulator to metal in picoseconds. This breakthrough could speed up future computers.