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Shapes of Nuclei

Most people think of the nucleus as an invisible speck at the center of the atom. However, just as an electron microscope can be used to look at what is inside a cell, nuclear physicists can use large accelerators to look inside nuclei. For example, very high energy electrons can be used to measure the shape of nuclei just as low energy electrons are used in an electron microscope to look at cells.

We cannot take a photograph of the atomic nucleus. However, physicists can analyze the results of experiments and use those to reconstruct where the protons and neutrons are located.

The picture above shows an image of a deformed nucleus. It is shaped a little bit like a rounded-off american football or a rugby ball.

Click here to learn more about how this picture was made.

Because of quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle, the location of these particles is actually blurred out more than this picture indicates. The surface you see in this image indicates where the particles can be found most (more than 90%) of the time.

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