Unveiling the Atom and Its Nucleus

Discoveries, Insights, and Understanding
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-0-443-40549-5
Verlag: Elsevier Science

Buch, Englisch, 512 Seiten, Format (B × H): 216 mm x 276 mm, Gewicht: 449 g

Unveiling the Atom and Its Nucleus: Discoveries, Insights, and Understanding explores how chemists and physicists have used scientific principles and experimentation to unveil the structure of the atom, factors governing nuclear stability and decay, modes of nuclear decay, and how the components of the atom interrelate to govern nuclear stability or predict its instability. Examples are featured, showing how discoveries (some considered insignificant at the time) have led to remarkable findings and resulted in our knowledge of the concepts and properties of the atom, such as Oliphant’s discovery of nuclear fusion, Bethe’s energy production in stars, and consequent current fusion energy development.

The book also provides a summary of current advances in vital applications of atomic energy, such as current applications in nuclear medicine, including positron emission tomography, hadron therapy, targeted hadron therapy and radioactive nanoparticles in cancer therapy, stable and radioactive nuclides in research to enhance agricultural production, food preservation, and applied nuclear fusion. It concludes by looking at the status of international treaties and efforts to control nuclear weapon proliferation and nuclear war.

Autoren/Hrsg.

F. L'Annunziata, Michael

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Physik Quantenphysik Kernphysik
• Naturwissenschaften Chemie Chemie Allgemein
• Naturwissenschaften Astronomie Kosmologie, Urknalltheorie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften
• Naturwissenschaften Chemie Physikalische Chemie
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Lehrerausbildung, Unterricht & Didaktik Allgemeine Didaktik Naturwissenschaften, Mathematik (Unterricht & Didaktik)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Atoms, Elements, and Molecules: Early Concepts and Findings
2. Characterization of Nuclear Radiation
3. Atomic Structure
4. Quantum Physics
5. Revelations in Nuclear Decay
6. Isotopes of the Elements
7. Radiation of Extraterrestrial Origin
8. Cherenkov Radiation
9. Nuclear Fusion
10. The Nuclear Era
11. Exotic Nuclear Properties and Decay Modes
12. The Internal Structure of the Proton and Neutron
13. Nuclear Forces
14. Anthropogenic Radioactive Elements
15. Mass and Energy Equivalence
16. Vital and Perilous Applications

Über Autor(innen)

F. L'Annunziata, Michael
Michael F. L'Annunziata earned his PhD degree in 1970 at the University of Arizona. His thesis research in the 1960s under contract with the then-US Atomic Energy Commission dealt with the analysis of radionuclides and chemical remediation of the environment in the event of fission product fallout from nuclear war. L'Annunziata was formerly Head of Fellowships and Training at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria; and he has served as a representative and lecturer for the IAEA on peaceful applications of nuclear energy for development in over 40 countries of the world from 1976-2007 and currently a private consultant in radioactivity analysis. Michael is the recipient of the 2022 Arthur Holly Compton Award in Education granted by the American Nuclear Society.