[identity profile] mmcirvin.livejournal.com 2006-10-17 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
...oh, right: I think the even-proton-numbered nuclei are stabler for reasons involving the Pauli exclusion principle and filled shells.

[identity profile] mmcirvin.livejournal.com 2006-10-17 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
...uh, that should be filled orbitals. Just as with electrons in atoms, you get paired identical particles of opposite spin.