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Artist's rendering of new, neutron-rich isotopes.
In a paper published Oct. 25, 2007, in the journal Nature, researchers created never-before-seen isotopes of magnesium and aluminum--represented here by the two colored squares floating in blackness. The research results suggest that variants of everyday elements might exist that are heavier than current scientific models predict. The extra weight refers to the additional neutrons stuffed into the nucleus by a dual filtering process carried out at Michigan State University's National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.
Credit: Alex Paisons, Michigan State University
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Related story: Newly Created Forms of Magnesium and Aluminum