Nuclear physics

This book fills a gap in current literature by covering the increasing nuclear physics content of various A-level syllabuses. In section 1 we outline the background and early development of the subject, in section 2 we deal with nuclear properties and theories at a level suitable for the pre-university student. The majority of topics have been treated with the limited use of mathematics, this necessitating some simplification which we hope to have accomplished without undue error. A few topics have been developed mathematically, to some extent, e.g. series decay. While it is the purpose of a book at this level to introduce the reader to the facts and theories of nuclear physics, we have to recognise that any teacher of science, at any level, must attempt to instill in the young scientist a sense of responsibility and an understanding of the problems attendant on the technological applications are important. These problems have been touched on in the text but we hope the student will be persuaded to read further; for this purpose we have added a short list of suggested additional reading. A selection of A-level past paper questions has been included. (author)