Radioactive decay is the strange and almost mystical ability for one element to naturally and spontaneously transmute into another. In the process, those elements tend to emit deadly forms of ...

For the first time, scientists observe a new and rare decay mode where oxygen-13 breaks into three helium nuclei and a proton following beta decay. Scientists have previously observed interesting ...

Radiometric dating, utilizing the predictable decay rates of radioactive isotopes within rocks and other materials, is the primary method for determining the age of geological samples. Multiple ...

Researchers from KDK Collaboration at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility of Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently made the first direct observations of rare decay processes, such as K-40 ...

In recent years, some large physics experiments worldwide have been trying to gather evidence of a nuclear process known as neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay. This is a rare process that entails ...

Scientists have gained insights into the weak nuclear force from new, more sensitive studies of the beta decays of the 'mirror' nuclei lithium-8 and boron-8. The weak nuclear force drives the process ...

Left: “Mirror” nuclei lithium-8 and boron-8 undergo beta decay, then split into two alpha particles. Right: Radioactive ions from the ATLAS accelerator at Argonne National Laboratory are suspended in ...