Nucleus: A Trip into the Heart of Matter

The nucleus is the unimaginably tiny object which lies at the centre of every atom. It is the very heart of matter. Nuclear reactions in the Sun provide us with all the heat and light we need to survive on Earth, and nuclear science plays a key role in medicine, in industry and in our understanding of the world. The elements of which we and everything around us are made were produced by nuclear processes in stars or in the Big Bang. "Nucleus - A Trip Into the Heart of Matter", follows a journey of exploration which began with the discovery of radioactivity. Within a few years the nucleus was discovered and its remarkable properties have been both a challenge and a source of wonder ever since. Nuclei were a fertile ground for seeing in action the strange new laws of physics that emerged in the 1920s. According to the new laws, probability replaces certainty in the realm of atoms and particles behave as waves. This book explains how it is possible to measure a nucleus, tiny as it is, and how its properties can be understood in terms of yet smaller particles. A survey of the range of different nuclei leads to a graphical explanation of the principles behind the energy-releasing processes of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. The applications of nuclear science are manifold - it is of vital importance in medical diagnosis and in a range of cancer therapies, it powers spacecraft and there are a host of industrial applications. Almost everything we see in the night sky is a result of nuclear reactions: understanding these reactions is the key to understanding modern astronomy and also the origin of the chemical elements of which we are made. But despite all this, the significance of the nucleus and nuclear physics is often swamped by negative connotations. "Nucleus: A Trip Into the Heart of Matter" provides and clear and fascinating account of how a century of extraordinary discoveries has revealed the secrets of the world of the nucleus, and how nuclear science plays a key role the daily lives of all of us.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; Foreword by Ben Motrtelson; 1: The size of things; From the immensity of space to the invisible world of the nucleus; 2: The discovery of nuclei; How a new world was revealed by radioactivity; 3: Particles or waves?; Strange new laws at the heart of matter; 4: Measuring nuclei; Determining the shape and size of minute objects; 5: Strange nuclear material; The contents of a nucleus; 6: The nuclear landscape; The variety and abundance of nuclei; 7: Applications of nuclear physics; Interactions with everyday life; 8: Nuclear architecture; From hydrogen to neutron stars; 9: Cosmic furnaces; The stars and the birth of elements; 10: Our violent origin; Cosmology and the nuclear processes in the Big Bang; Indexes

About the Author :
Dr Raymond Mackintosh is a member of the physics department at the Open University, the UK's pioneering distance learning university. He is active in nuclear theory research, has more than a 100 publications, and has been involved in publicity activities for the nuclear physics community. Dr Jim Al-Khalili is a nuclear physicist at the University of Surrey in England. His main research interest is in the theoretical study of the structure of exotic nuclei, and he has published widely. As a science populariser, his recent television and radio appearances have seen him discuss subjects ranging from the meaning of free will to the science of Star Wars. Professor Bjorn Jonson is a distinguished member of the faculty at Chalmers Institute of Technology in Goteborg, Sweden, and a leading-edge researcher in nuclear physics. He has carried our ground breaking work in the topical subject of halo nuclei and has a long-standing interest in communicating nuclear physics to the public. Professor Teresa Pena of the Instituto Superior Tecnico in Lisbon, Portugal is an active researcher in nuclear theory. She is a frequent visitor to the United States and has a long-term collaboration with the Jefferson Laboratory in Virginia. She is also involved with innovative textbook projects in Portugal.