When you look an nickel and palladium in the BSM-SG atlas, you see the symmetrical upper 8 arms. This is where the magic happens and the Closed Proximity Bindings of the Palladium seems even more effective then the Electron Bindings of the Nickel. Those 4 arms have some degree of freedom, in this case only in the horizontal direction.
Comparing neon to nickel and palladium: Nickel (Z=28) is a neon (Z=10) structure on top of an argon (Z=18) structure. Palladium (Z=46) is a neon (Z=10) structure on top of two argon (Z=18) structures.
Ne: Z = 10
Ni: Z = 10 + 18
Pd: Z = 10 + 18 + 18
Neon has the symmetrical upper 8 arms where "the magic happens" and is accessible from both sides because it has no argon structure attached to it. Wouldn't neon also be susceptible to hydrogen fusion?
In my book the sodium model looks right, or do you mean the 2. neutron on top ? This can be stable, only a single proton is not capable of holding 2 neutrons due the low mass.
I double checked: the sodium structure in the book (edition 18 feb 2013) differs from the one in the "Atlas of Atomic Nuclear Structures" (1107.0031v1.pdf) I found on the internet. Book is wrong, Atlas from internet is right. (The book contains a lot of spelling errors as well, very annoying)
I tried to explain to some colleagues that the Bohr model is based on wrong assumptions and that there is a new model that fits the experimental data better. It was futile: "everyone in the world agrees on the Bohr model being the only correct model so don't be a smartass". The Bohr model seems hard coded in people's minds. It will take time to convince people, especially scientists. (It would make a great "the big bang theory" tv-series episode where Dr. Sheldon Cooper hears about BSM-SG.)
I'm going to order the main BSM-SG book for more detailed information. A good read during summer vacation.