You did not miss the nuclide calendar, did you?


To inspire more people to learn more about nuclear physics and nuclides (an element with a particular isotope) Zsolt Elter, Ali Al-Adili and Peter Andersson have created an advent calendar that behind each door describes a nuclide. Why it is interesting, how it can be used, or what its special history is.

A new door will be opened every day up to December 24. Thereafter, the calendar will be available online.

Why have you chosen to make a nuclide calendar?

“A lot of people who are interested in natural science know about our elements in the periodic table well. But in addition to this there are different isotopes of all elements, and there we experience it as if people think they are identical and interchangeable. On the chemical level that is not completely wrong, but there are still large differences in the atomic nuclei, and this has significance both in science and for various technical applications. We want to inform about the rich flora of nuclides that exists in the world, and show how interesting they are. Our hope is that this will inspire to learn more,” says Peter Andersson, researcher at the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

How did you come up with the idea?

“Thoughts to make a nuclide calendar have matured for a long time. This summer, a question was sent to colleagues and friends about ‘What is your favorite nuclide, and why?’ The proposals that came in then form the basis for the selection of nuclides in the calendar. Even if some of them have been added afterwards,” says Peter.

Open the advent calendar and learn more about the different nuclides