The Bohr model showed us the atom as a positive nucleus with electrons orbiting around it. But what is inside the nucleus? And why does uranium decay, does the Sun burn, does an H-bomb exist without imploding on its own? In this closing capsule of the book we look inside the laws of the nucleus: structure, the strong force and binding energy, radioactivity, fission and fusion, dosimetry and applications. It is the frontier where 20th-century physics became 20th-century history.
Sections
- Structure of the nucleus
- The strong nuclear force and binding energy
- Radioactive decay
- Fission and fusion: the chemistry of nuclei
- Dosimetry and radiation protection
- Natural radioactivity and applications