Chapter 6 - The World of Atoms
The atomic nucleus

Lise Meitner

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I. Four types of interactions

  • The interactions
  • Gravitational "charge." One type - no neutrality
  • Benjamin Franklin and two-charge neutrality
  • Quarks and three-charge neutrality
  • Model for 4-charge neutrality

  • Franklin's other invention

    The Rutherford Scattering Experiment

  • Thomson model
  • Rutherford model
  • Bohr model
  • Rutherford (Geiger/Marsden) Experiment
  • Maximum interaction at surface
  • Mostly empty
  • Applet 1
  • Applet 2
  • Closest approach

    II. The structure of the nucleon

  • Distribution charge/circulation
  • Quarks and Quantum Chromodynamics
  • The proton
  • The neutron
  • Gluons

    III. Stability and abundance of nuclides

  • Nucleon numbers
  • Stable isotopes
  • With superheavies

    Radioactivity

  • Instability and decay modes
  • Decay processes
  • Radioactive decay chains
  • Tycho's measurement of a radioactive halflife
  • Cf-254 or Fe-59 ?

  • Masses and binding energies
  • Binding energy/nucleon
  • Energy release, fission and fusion

    THIA Laboratory Tour

    Semiempirical modeling of binding energy

  • Liquid drop model
  • Packing fraction
  • How many gumballs?
  • Volume under close-packing
  • Volume and surface
  • Electric repulsion
  • Neutron decay
  • von Weizsäker formula
  • Fission
  • Fusion

    Fission and fusion

  • Fission fragments
  • Otto Hahn, barium, and Lise Meitner
  • Lise Meitner
  • Snubs

  • Real liquid drop fission
  • U-235 fission
  • Chain reaction

  • Fusion reactions

    Superheavies

  • Island of stability
  • Zoom in
  • 113 and 115

    Weak interaction decays

  • Neutron and proton
  • Mirror nuclides - the nuclear radius
  • Mirror decays - PET sources
  • PET protocol

    The muon and tau lepton

  • Weak interactions
  • Martin L. Perl

    • IV. Cosmological, geological, and archaeological dating

    Radioactive chains and cascading

  • Halflife of dice
  • Multisided coins
  • Supported decay
  • Branched decay
  • Cascade/branching simulation
  • Rutherford's measurements
  • Coat-of-arms
  • continued

  • Uranium-lead dating
  • Bhagava Gita

  • Carbon dating
  • Bristlecone movie
          Bristle cone pine calibration
  • Bristle cone pine calibration
  • Shroud of Turin
  • Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy

  • Potassium-argon dating   [Current Position]

    • V. The exponential decay law


             Progressions
         Implications
  • History of the exponential law
  • Memorable papers of Am. J. Phys. 1933-1990
  • Forgotten fundamentals

    Implications of uncontrolled growth

  • Natural gas
  • The best kept secret of the energy crisis
  • Energy supply estimates
  • Hubbert's candle
  • Link
  • World population
  • Logistic curve

    • VI. Hyperfine structure

  • Overview
  • Summary of contributions
  • Michelson's Nobel lecture

    • VII. Fundamental and applied research

  • Fundamental inquiry & industrial development

    • Chapter 7
















    Barrier penetration and alpha decay

  • Alpha particle motion within the nucleus
  • Penetration factor
  • KE and PE for alpha decay
  • Transparency of rectangular barrier
  • Tries per second

    • Applications

  • Other examples of tunnelling
  • Ammonia maser
  • Muon-catalyzed fusion

    • Leptons and beta decay

  • Leptons
  • Martin Perl - tau lepton
  • 2-body decays
  • 3-body decays

  • History of the exponential law
  • Limitations of exponential law
  • Experimental verification
  • Is it decay or only disintegration?
  • Webster
  • Aphorisms
  • Literary wisdom
  • Merzbacher