Nucleus : a trip into the heart of matter / Ray Mackintosh ... [and others] ; foreword by Ben Mottelson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Mackintosh, Raymond.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nuclear physics.

Nuclear physics--Research--History.

Nuclear physics--Research.

History.

Physical Description:

143 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

Summary:

Lively prose and captivating details unravel the scientific mysteries that surround the subject of the nucleus, from the early experimental work of the quiet New Zealander Lord Rutherford to the huge atom-smashing machines of today and beyond. 180 illustrations, 90 in color.

Contents:

Introduction: Our world and its infinite variety 10

1 The size of things: From the immensity of space to the invisible world of the nucleus 14

2 The discovery of nuclei: How a new world was revealed by radioactivity 22

3 Particles or waves? Strange laws at the heart of matter 36

4 Measuring nuclei: Determining the shape and size of minute objects 46

5 Strange nuclear material: The contents of a nucleus 56

6 The nuclear landscape: The variety and abundance of nuclei 70

7 Applications of nuclear physics: Interactions with everyday life 84

8 Nuclear architecture: From hydrogen to neutron stars 98

9 Cosmic furnaces: The stars and the birth of elements 108

10 Our violent origin: Cosmology and the nuclear processes in the Big Bang 124.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0801868602

OCLC:

48065212