Before revision: +Geometric shapes of the most abundant alpha nuclidesNuclideNumber ofα-particlesGeometryRadiusPredictedExperimental^{12}_{6}C3Triangle2.43 fm2.47 fm^{16}_{8}O4Tetrahedron2.54 fm2.70 fm^{20}_{10}Ne5Trigonal bipyramid2.76 fm3.01 fmSquare pyramid2.79 fm^{24}_{12}Mg6Octahedron2.85 fm3.06 fmHexagon3.79 fm^{32}_{16}S8Cubic3.37 fm3.26 fmOctagon4.85 fm Shapes of heaver nuclides For medium to heavy nuclides, a spherical model of the atomic nucleus is incompatible with observed large quadrupole moments, indicating that greater stability is obtained for a deformed or spheroidal shape than for a spherical nucleus of the same volume.
After revision: +Geometric shapes of the most abundant alpha nuclidesNuclideNumber ofα-particlesGeometryRadiusPredictedExperimental^{12}_{6}C3Triangle2.43 fm2.47 fm^{16}_{8}O4Tetrahedron2.54 fm2.70 fm^{20}_{10}Ne5Trigonal bipyramid2.76 fm3.01 fmSquare pyramid2.79 fm^{24}_{12}Mg6Octahedron2.85 fm3.06 fmHexagon3.79 fm^{32}_{16}S8Cubic3.37 fm3.26 fmOctagon4.85 fm Shapes of heavier nuclides For medium to heavy nuclides, a spherical model of the atomic nucleus is incompatible with observed large quadrupole moments, indicating that greater stability is obtained for a deformed or spheroidal shape than for a spherical nucleus of the same volume.