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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000000269872 | QC776 C67 1986 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
This book is intended for use in a first course on the physics of the atomic nucleus and is based on lectures given in the 'core' course to students of physics at the University of Bristol. The authors' aim is to provide a clear and comprehensive account of the basic concepts. The text opens by setting nuclear physics in the context of elementary particle physics. The authors then show how the application of simple models can provide an understanding of the properties of nuclei, both in their ground states and excited states, and also of the nature of nuclear reactions. The book includes chapters on nuclear fission and its application in nuclear power reactors, and on the role of nuclear physics in energy production and nucleosynthesis in stars. The authors assume a knowledge of basic quantum mechanics and special relativity, but there are appendices on some other more specialized but relevant topics. Each chapter ends with a set of problems applying and extending the material covered in the text. This book will fill the need for a concise introduction to one of the most fundamental subjects taught to undergraduates in physics.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
Cottingham and Greenwood (Univ. of Bristol, UK) have prepared this new edition (1st ed., 1986) of a nuclear physics textbook designed for second- and third-year students in the British system. Although not a combined work on nuclear and particle physics, as is the case with Nuclear and Particle Physics, by William S.C. Williams (1991), and Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics, by Ashok Das and Thomas Ferbel (CH, Feb'94), it does start off by relating nuclear physics to the standard model of particle physics. Knowledge of basic quantum mechanics and special relativity is assumed of the reader. An interesting feature of the new edition is the addition of sections on the physics of supernovae, neutrino physics, muon-catalyzed fusion, and the biological effects of radiation. Four appendixes cover additional material on topics often not found in basic quantum mechanics courses. Although written at roughly the same level, the book probably would not be as useful as an undergraduate-level resource in the American system as the above-mentioned works. An appropriate addition to the library of any college supporting a physics major. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. R. L. Stearns emeritus, Vassar College
Table of Contents
| Preface |
| 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 The passage of energetic particles through matter |
| Appendices |
| Answers to problems |
| Index |
