Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the second edition
- Preface to the first edition
- Constants of nature, conversion factors and notation
- Glossary of some important symbols
- 1 Prologue
- 2 Leptons and the electromagnetic and weak interactions
- 3 Nucleons and the strong interaction
- 4 Nuclear sizes and nuclear masses
- 5 Ground-state properties of nuclei: the shell model
- 6 Alpha decay and spontaneous fission
- 7 Excited states of nuclei
- 8 Nuclear reactions
- 9 Power from nuclear fission
- 10 Nuclear fusion
- 11 Nucleosynthesis in stars
- 12 Beta decay and gamma decay
- 13 Neutrinos
- 14 The passage of energetic particles through matter
- 15 Radiation and life
- Appendix A Cross-sections
- Appendix B Density of states
- Appendix C Angular momentum
- Appendix D Unstable states and resonances
- Further reading
- Answers to problems
- Index
1 - Prologue
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the second edition
- Preface to the first edition
- Constants of nature, conversion factors and notation
- Glossary of some important symbols
- 1 Prologue
- 2 Leptons and the electromagnetic and weak interactions
- 3 Nucleons and the strong interaction
- 4 Nuclear sizes and nuclear masses
- 5 Ground-state properties of nuclei: the shell model
- 6 Alpha decay and spontaneous fission
- 7 Excited states of nuclei
- 8 Nuclear reactions
- 9 Power from nuclear fission
- 10 Nuclear fusion
- 11 Nucleosynthesis in stars
- 12 Beta decay and gamma decay
- 13 Neutrinos
- 14 The passage of energetic particles through matter
- 15 Radiation and life
- Appendix A Cross-sections
- Appendix B Density of states
- Appendix C Angular momentum
- Appendix D Unstable states and resonances
- Further reading
- Answers to problems
- Index
Summary
More than 100 elements are now known to exist, distinguished from each other by the electric charge Ze on the atomic nucleus. This charge is balanced by the charge carried by the Z electrons which together with the nucleus make up the neutral atom. The elements are also distinguished by their mass, more than 99% of which resides in the nucleus. Are there other distinguishing properties of nuclei? Have the nuclei been in existence since the beginning of time? Are there elements in the Universe which do not exist on Earth? What physical principles underlie the properties of nuclei? Why are their masses so closely correlated with their electric charges? Why are some nuclei radioactive? Radioactivity is used to man's benefit in medicine. Nuclear fission is exploited in power generation. But man's use of nuclear physics has also posed the terrible threat of nuclear weapons.
This book aims to set out the basic concepts which have been developed by nuclear physicists in their attempts to understand the nucleus. Besides satisfying our appetite for knowledge, these concepts must be understood if we are to make an informed judgment on the benefits and problems of nuclear technology.
After the discovery of the neutron by Chadwick in 1932, it was accepted that a nucleus of atomic number Z was made up of Z protons and some number N of neutrons. The proton and neutron were then thought to be elementary particles, although it is now clear that they are not but rather are themselves structured entities.
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- Chapter
- Information
- An Introduction to Nuclear Physics , pp. 1 - 6Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001