Nuclear Physics
At the start of the twentieth century, physicists were only just starting to move beyond the view that atoms were indivisible particles of matter, an idea that had been around since ancient times (the electron was discovered by J.J. Thomson in 1897). By the end of the century, mankind had harnessed energy from the incredibly strong nuclear force, unleashed nuclear weapons on the world, developed imaging techniques using the spin of atomic nuclei, and used radioactive tracers and radioisotope therapies in medicine.
Lessons
- 21 Jan: Atomic sizes, oil drop experiment
- 22 Jan: Rutherford's atom
- 23 Jan: Distance of closest approach
- 30 Jan: Electron diffraction
- 4 Feb: HWK feedback, "curve" fitting!
- 5 Feb: "Radioactive" dice analogue
- 6 Feb: Protactinium generator
- 5 Feb: Gamma inverse square law
- Half term
- 25 Feb: Nuclear Instability
- 26 Feb: Alpha, beta and gamma background
- 27 Feb: Effects of radiation on humans
- 6 Mar: Nuclear decay
Notes
Question sheets
- Rutherford's atom
- GCSE question on atomic models
- Rutherford's atom II
- Rutherford questions
- On nuclear stability