The doubly magic nucleus of lead-208 -- it spins, though it shouldn't!

(The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences) We imagine atomic nuclei to be more or less spherical, chaotic clusters of protons and neutrons. Experiments at the Argonne National Laboratory, inspired by physicists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the PAS, are verifying these ideas. Using an astronomical analogy we can say that the majority of nuclei are similar in outline to rocky moons or asteroids of different shapes, but nuclei of lead-208 can re...