Nuclear Physics

Nuclear Physics is concerned primarily with low-energy nuclear physics rather than high-energy or elementary particle physics, although examples from particle physics are used where appropriate. The Fermi Golden Rule is given emphasis throughout. This text consists of six chapters and begins with an introduction to nuclear physics, followed by a discussion on nuclear structure at a fairly basic level. This book also discusses the nuclear periodic table, radioactivity, and unstable nuclear states as well as nuclear mass and nuclear binding energy. Spin and static electric and magnetic moments are then examined from the perspective of quantum mechanics rather than through the vector model of angular momentum. Quantum mechanics is also used to treat nuclear decay in the next chapter. The theory of nuclear reactions is discussed by highlighting the concepts of cross-section and resonance. The penultimate chapter deals with self-sustaining nuclear reactions, with particular reference to the nuclear physics of fission reactors and the nuclear aspects of stellar physics. This chapter ends with the application of the theory of thermonuclear reactions to the design of a thermonuclear power plant. The final chapter is devoted to charge independence and isospin in low-energy nuclear physics.