Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 15 June 2005 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news050613-4
News
Fat silicon atoms are doubly magic
For protons, fourteen is the new magic number.
A form of silicon that is bloated with extra neutrons has revealed a 'magic number' for the protons in its nucleus.
Atomic nuclei are only stable when packed with certain combinations of positive protons and uncharged neutrons.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
There are currently no comments.
