Protons

Nuclear physicists have discovered gravity’s profound influence on the quantum scale, revealing the strong force’s distribution within protons for the first time. This groundbreaking research, combining historical theoretical insights with modern experimental data, offers unprecedented understanding of the proton’s internal dynamics and sets the stage for future discoveries in nuclear science.Nuclear physicists at Jefferson Lab have mapped the distribution of the strong force within the proton, employing a framework that…

Christmas lights might not be the only thing lighting up these dark December nights, as a solar storm is expected to bring bright northern lights to the Prairies this weekend.Aurora borealis is considered among the greatest natural wonders and scientists say it starts with the sun."The sun is sort of spewing off protons and electrons as a plasma in all directions, all the time, we call that the solar wind," said Bill Archer, mission manager at the Canadian Space Agency. "The magnetic field of the Earth actually forces the…

The team aims to enhance the storage capacity of memory devices and ferroelectric neuromorphic computing chips that consume less energy and operate faster. Credit: © 2023 KAUST; Fei Xue.KAUST-led researchers have discovered a proton-mediated method that induces multiple phase transitions in ferroelectric materials, potentially facilitating the development of high-performance, low-power memory devices, and neuromorphic computing chips.A proton-mediated approach that instigates multiple phase transitions in ferroelectric…

Protons accelerated almost to the speed of light can collide similarly to billiard balls. However, since protons are quantum particles, from measuring such collisions we can learn unobvious things about the strong interaction. Credit: IFJ PANA study conducted by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Accelerator has gained insights into the properties of strong interactions between protons at ultra-high energies by exploring elastic scattering in proton-proton collisions. The research found discrepancies with…

By U.S. Department of Energy June 6, 2023Quark and gluons inside a proton. Two up quarts, one down quark, gluons holding them together. Credit: Brookhaven National LaboratoryProtons are positively charged subatomic particles found in every atomic nucleus, determining atomic and baryon numbers. Also referred to as nucleons or hadrons, they consist of quarks held together by the strong interaction force. Unlike neutrons, protons are stable, and they do not decay on their own, a unique characteristic among particles of their…

I recently told you I was tempted to switch my password manager from 1Password to Proton Pass, a newly announced service from the Swiss software company Proton. Now, Proton has given me another reason to consider the switch. Enter the Proton Family Plan, which offers a suite of end-to-encrypted apps: Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN, and Pass. It all starts at $19.99 per month if you get the two-year plan, and that’s a tremendous value for up to six family members. You might be familiar with Proton for their…

A magnetic focusing “horn” that scientists used to produce the neutrinos in Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory’s NuMI beam. This method made this first-ever image of the proton using neutrinos. Credit: Reidar Hahn, Fermi National Accelerator LaboratoryThe MINERvA experiment at Fermilab, utilizing the NuMI beam, has made the first precise depiction of a proton using neutrinos instead of light as the imaging tool.The ScienceThe building blocks of atomic nuclei, protons and neutrons, are comprised of quarks and gluons…

The humble proton is a lynchpin of the material Universe. Its characteristics define chemistry, governing teams of electrons that build atoms into molecules, and molecules into dazzling complexity.For all we understand of its behavior, the proton's internal structure is a chaotic mess of activity scientists are still deciphering.A new experiment conducted at the US Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility sheds light on this mystery, revealing more about proton innards and indeed how matter…

To make efficient hydrogen energy technology a reality—from generating hydrogen through electrolysis to next-generation chemical fuel cells—scientists need to know exactly how individual hydrogen atoms move through water. A neutral water molecule comprises two hydrogen atoms bonded to a single oxygen atom, the entire structure bending to give the molecule a partially positive side and a partially negative side, like a magnet. If you could zoom in on a glass of water, you would see trillions of such molecules, along with…

Protons may have more "charm" than we thought, new research suggests.A proton is one of the subatomic particles that make up the nucleus of an atom. As small as protons are, they are composed of even tinier elementary particles known as quarks, which come in a variety of "flavors," or types: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top.Typically, a proton is thought to be made of two up quarks and one down quark. But a new study finds it's more complicated than that.Protons can also contain a charm quark, an elementary…