A Basic Introduction to Nuclear Physics

This is the home page for a hyper-textbook presenting elementary facts about nuclear physics. Nuclear physics is the study of the properties of the nucleus, the tiny object at the heart of every atom, and the forces that hold the nucleus together.

The image above shows a "picture" of a nucleus. In this hyper-textbook you will learn that physicists can do experiments that tell them interesting details about the nucleus of the atom, such as its shape.

Click here to learn more about how this picture was made.

This hyper-textbook is broken down into several major sections for your convenience, but all of these sections are interconnected at various places.

Explore it however you wish.

Lost?

If you get lost or need assistance, there is a menu on each page of this document that includes a Help button (to explain how this material is organized) and a Home button (to return you to this page). The outline below gives a brief overview of the major sections of this document.

What is Nuclear Physics?

A basic Intro that includes a graphical description of the size and shape of nuclei and their other properties. There is also a guided "tour" showing how we learn this information from experiment. This section is a good place to start if you do not know very much about atoms and their nuclei.

What do Nuclear Physicists do?

A description of the different Careers in nuclear physics. It describes what researchers at universities and laboratories do. It also includes information about jobs in related areas such as nuclear medicine and about how nuclear physicists use their problem-solving skills and training in business and industry.

Applications of Nuclear Physics

A description of the various Uses and applications of nuclear physics in your daily life. These range from medicine to energy to smoke detectors.

Nuclear Physics Laboratories

A collection of links to WWW home pages of nuclear physics Labs around the world. Some of these have on-line tours and additional educational information about the particular aspects of nuclear physics studied at that facility.