An Introduction to Nuclear Physics

Noel Cottingham is a theoretician working in the HH Wills Physics Laboratory at the University of Bristol. He is also a visiting professor at the Université Pierre at Marie Curie, Paris. Derek Greenwood is a theoretician working in the HH Wills Physics Laboratory at the University of Bristol.

• Preface to the second edition; Preface to the first edition; Constants of nature, conversion factors and notation; Glossary of some important symbols; 1. Prologue; 2. Leptons and the electromagnetic and weak interactions; 3. Nucleons and the strong interaction; 4. Nuclear sizes and nuclear masses; 5. Ground-state properties of nuclei: the shell model; 6. Alpha decay and spontaneous fission; 7. Excited states of nuclei; 8. Nuclear reactions; 9. Power from nuclear fission; 10. Nuclear fusion; 11. Nucleosynthesis in stars; 12. Beta decay and gamma decay; 13. Neutrinos; 14. The passage of energetic particles through matter; Appendix A. Cross-sections; Appendix B. Density of states; Appendix C. Angular momentum; Appendix D. Unstable states and resonances; Further reading; Answers to problems; Index.

'This clear and concise introduction to nuclear physics provide an excellent basis for a 'core' undergraduate course in this area.' Physics Courier