Introduction to Nuclear Physics

What holds a nucleus together, and what happens when it lets go

About this course

Nuclear physics from sizes, masses and the semi-empirical mass formula through the nuclear force, the shell model and collective motion, to alpha, beta and gamma decay, radioactivity, reaction cross sections and fission.

What you will be able to do

  • Predict binding energies and stability from the semi-empirical mass formula
  • Explain nuclear structure with the Fermi gas, the shell model and the magic numbers
  • Account for deformation, rotation and collective motion in real nuclei
  • Derive alpha, beta and gamma decay rates from tunnelling, the weak interaction and selection rules
  • Use cross sections and decay chains to reason about reactions, dating and dose

What this course covers

  • Rutherford scattering and nuclear discovery
  • Nuclear size and the radius law
  • Mass defect and the binding energy curve
  • Semi-empirical mass formula (liquid drop model)
  • Shell structure signal: where the formula fails
  • Mass parabola and the valley of stability
  • The Gamow Peak: where stars actually fuse
  • The Proton-Proton Chain and the Sun's Slowness
  • Stellar Thermostat and the Layers of Burning
  • Helium Burning and Hoyle's Predicted Carbon-12 Level
  • Fusion on Earth: Lawson's Criterion
  • Competing Exponentials as a Unifying Principle
  • Pauli Blocking and the Independent Particle Model
  • The Nuclear Fermi Gas: Fermi Momentum, Energy, and the Asymmetry Term
  • The Wood-Saxon Well and Its Shell Closures
  • Spin-Orbit Coupling and All Seven Magic Numbers
  • Predicting Spin and Parity of Odd-A Nuclei
  • Two Origins of the Magic Numbers: a Closing Synthesis
  • Reaction Energetics: Q Values and Thresholds
  • Nuclear Cross Section and the 1/v Law
  • Resonances: Compound Nucleus and Breit–Wigner Formula
  • Beam Attenuation and Reaction Rates
  • Alpha decay energetics and Q value
  • The Coulomb barrier: height and width
  • Quantum tunneling through the Coulomb barrier
  • 24 decades of half-life from one integral
  • Geiger–Nuttall law: energy in an exponent
  • Worked example: radium-226 half-life from scratch
  • GW170817: Multi-Messenger Observation of a Kilonova
  • Drip Lines and the Nuclear Existence Chart
  • Halo Nuclei and Weakly Bound Wave Functions
  • Neutron Star Structure and Composition
  • Oppenheimer–Volkoff Limit and the Nuclear Repulsive Core
  • The R Process and the Origin of Heavy Elements
  • Unifying Theme: Edges Test the Same Physics
  • Nuclear deformation and its quantum origin
  • Quantum rigid rotor and the E4/E2 = 10/3 signature
  • Classifying nuclei: rotors, vibrators, and closed shells
  • Moment of inertia and the paired superfluid nucleus
  • Collective vs. single-particle angular momentum
  • Giant dipole resonance and the 78/A^(1/3) law
  • Centrifugal stretching correction to the rotor
  • Beta decay kinematics and the neutrino hypothesis
  • Fermi's theory and the beta spectrum shape
  • The electron-in-nucleus misconception corrected
  • FT values and the weak coupling constant
  • Parity violation, electron capture, and double beta decay
  • Potassium-40 as a capstone worked example
  • Fissility and the fission barrier
  • Energy release and the fission energy ledger
  • Fission fragment yield distribution and prompt neutrons
  • Critical mass estimate
  • The Deuteron: Nature's Only Two-Nucleon Bound State
  • The Nucleon-Nucleon Force as Foundation of Nuclear Physics
  • Prerequisites: Radial Schrödinger Equation and Square Well
  • Four Questions the Deuteron Poses About the Nuclear Force
  • Neutron Moderation and Moderator Choice
  • The Six-Factor Formula and Reactor Multiplication
  • Reactor Kinetics: Delayed Neutrons and the Dollar
  • Xenon Poisoning, the Iodine Pit, and Fuel Breeding
  • Radiotracer principle and PET scanning
  • Bomb-pulse carbon-14 dating
  • Gamma-ray energy resolution: germanium vs. scintillator
  • Nuclear test detection via xenon isotope ratios
  • Radiation dose units and risk quantification
  • Course synthesis: 14 numbers on one board
  • Photon angular momentum and selection rules
  • Vicecop estimates and the multipole ladder
  • Nuclear isomers and internal conversion
  • Mössbauer effect and recoil-free emission
  • Cesium-137 decay: full worked example
  • Radioactive decay law and the curie
  • Radioactive decay chains and equilibrium
  • Radiocarbon dating
  • Uranium–lead radiometric dating
  • Radiation dose units and biological weighting
  • Randomness at one scale, regularity at another
  • Age of the Earth from lead isotopes

Syllabus

  1. The Nucleus: Size, Mass and Force

    1. L1 · Sizes, Masses and the Semi-Empirical Mass Formula
    2. L2 · The Nuclear Force and the Deuteron

  2. Models of Nuclear Structure

    1. L3 · The Fermi Gas, the Shell Model and the Magic Numbers
    2. L4 · Deformation, Rotation and Collective Motion

  3. Radioactive Decay

    1. L5 · Alpha Decay and Tunnelling
    2. L6 · Beta Decay and the Weak Interaction
    3. L7 · Gamma Decay, Selection Rules and Mössbauer
    4. L8 · Radioactivity: Chains, Clocks and Doses

  4. Reactions and Fission

    1. L9 · Nuclear Reactions and Cross Sections
    2. L10 · Fission
    3. L11 · Reactors and Criticality

  5. Fusion, Stars and the World

    1. L12 · Fusion and Stellar Nucleosynthesis
    2. L13 · Exotic Nuclei, Neutron Stars and the r-Process
    3. L14 · Nuclear Physics in the World, and the Close