Abstract
A cunning addition for the determination of nuclear masses provides world-leading sensitivity for accurate measurements. This is already opening up new physics and applications.
It may sound simple to weigh an atomic nucleus, but there is more to it than you might think, especially when the nucleus is very unstable. Finding out the properties of such fleeting nuclei, perhaps surviving for only a few milliseconds, can solve long-standing science problems. Short-lived nuclei are key to our understanding not only of how neutrons and protons bind together in nuclei, but also of the way that explosive events in the cosmos tell us about the life cycle of stars.