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Nuclear fusion. Credit: Lancaster University
Nuclear physics and its discoveries surround us every day. They heat our planet, but could kill millions of people in a heartbeat. It is a topic that is interesting enough that we have written several articles covering many aspects. To help you find them all we have assembled a page of links to each one. Jumping into a pile of links can be a bit of a put off, so here are some interesting facts about nuclear physics.
Nuclear physics led to the development of nuclear fission power plants. Fission renders a great deal of energy, but nuclear fusion releases much more energy. The drawback is that science has not been able to create a controlled fusion process. Mainly because of the high temperatures involved.
Nearly every substance in the Universe undergoes radioactive decay. Some substances decay so slowly that their daughter isotopes have not been seen yet.
The largest portion of nuclear waste is from naturally occurring materials. Many people think it is nuclear reactors, but reactors recycle their waste and use it to help fuel themselves. Some of what they do not recycle is used by particle accelerators.
Gamma decay is just a nucleus calming down from an excited state.
Nuclear physics is a widely encompassing field with many practical applications in daily life. Some of our greatest medical advancements came after an understanding of nuclear physics. Hopefully, you will find what you need here and, as always, enjoy your research.
- Fusion
- Gamma Decay
- Alpha Decay
- Beta Decay
- Cold Fusion
- Nuclear Bombs
- Fusion Power
- Fusion Bomb
- Fusion Reactor
- Half Life Decay
- Radioactive Decay
- What is Nuclear Fission?
- Nuclear Fusion
- Nuclear Waste
- Binding Energy
- Radioactive Isotopes
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