Many stable atoms have ‘magic numbers’ of protons and neutrons − 75 years ago, 2 physicists discovered their special properties

By Artemis Spyrou, Professor of Nuclear Physics, Michigan State University
Sean Liddick, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Michigan State University

The word magic is not often used in the context of science. But in the early 1930s, scientists discovered that some atomic nuclei – the center part of atoms, which make up all matter – were more stable than others. These nuclei had specific numbers of protons or neutrons, or magic numbers, as physicist Eugene Wigner called them.

The race to figure out what made these nuclei so stable began. Understanding these…

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