The stuff of daily existence is made of atoms, and all those atoms are made of the same three things: electrons, protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons are very similar particles in most respects.

Atoms are made up of a nucleus, protons and electrons. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Atoms are the basic units of matter.

In most stars, hydrogen is turning into helium, and the process starts with two protons coming together to form helium-2. This usually splits back apart very quickly, but sometimes one of the protons ...

The “lead” of a pencil is actually made of a substance called graphite which is made of carbon atoms. The picture shows a close-up of one carbon atom. A hydrogen atom has one proton as the nucleus and ...

For example, the atomic number of chlorine is 17. Every chlorine atom has 17 protons and 17 electrons. It has 17 positive charges and 17 negative charges, meaning that it is neutral overall. Atoms of ...

This article was updated June 28 at 4:54 p.m. ET. Scientists have long wondered whether there is a limit to the number of protons and neutrons that can be clustered together to form the nucleus of an ...

Artemis Spyrou receives funding from the US National Science Foundation. Sean Liddick receives funding from the Department of Energy, Office of Science and the Department of Energy, National Nuclear ...

“Magic numbers” of protons and neutrons can make an atomic nucleus exceptionally stable—and a new one has just been added to the existing menagerie that helps sketch a fuller picture of the ...