History Of Nuclear Physics

Nuclear physics is the study of the relationship between the nuclei of atoms. For nuclear physics to be applied in real life situations, radioisotopes are often used. These are isotopes that have an unstable protons to neutrons ratio that causes them to spontaneously undergo radioactive decay. They do this in order to change their amount of protons and neutrons and become a stable isotope of the same or a different element. To do this, they can either go through alpha decay or beta decay and depending on which one it does, it will either emit alpha particles or beta particles which will cause it to end up with a different element or isotope. When going through alpha decay, it will become an element with two less protons than the original element,

This is a renewable source of energy which is being used fairly widely amongst the human race. Energy is created by a process called nuclear fission. In this process, neutrons are sent towards an atom at a certain speed (having a certain energy) that causes the nucleus to try to absorb the neutrons. However, these neutrons are sent in a large amount, and with there being too many neutrons, the nucleus can’t absorb them all and spontaneously breaks into uneven halves. When this happens, more neutrons are sent off at high speeds and a large amount of energy is also created. The new neutrons hit other nuclei and they split apart as well and a chain reaction starts. Each time a nucleus splits apart, energy is being created and with such a fast chain reaction the amount of energy builds up very fast. If it gets to large, the energy could create roasting, burning, or even an explosion. So in nuclear power plants, boron rods are inserted which absorb some of the neutrons given off and slow down the process. With the human population steadily increasing and the need for energy increasing along with it, there is a large demand for a reliable and renewable energy source. As of now, 68% of energy comes from fossil fuels, 19% from hydro energy and other renewable sources, and 13.4% from nuclear power plants (11). It is estimated that the fossil fuels will not last throughout the next century (10). With the renewable sources,

It is a process that appeals to geologists, anthropologists, and archaeologists as the information is incredibly helpful to their studies (4). There are several different radioisotopes that are used depending on the estimated age of the object. The way they use these isotopes is by learning the usual amounts of the radioisotope and comparing it to with how much there is in the object now. By doing this, they will be able to calculate which stage of decay the radioisotope is in according to it’s half-life and then they will know how old the item is. Carbon-14 is the most common of these, however, it can only be used if the investigated material is less than 50,000 years old. This is because the half-life of carbon-14 is only 5,730 years, so once it has gotten to around 50,000 years, it is in it’s 8th or 9th half life meaning that only 1% of it will remain undecayed. If carbon-14 is not detected at all, it means that the object is more than 50,000 year old and that another isotope has to be used. Carbon-14 is most commonly used for wood, cloth, bones, and plant fibres (9). Knowing the age of items is, as I stated, important for many different people and their jobs. However, it is not the most reliable method out there. Although scientists like this technique, more than 50% of radiocarbon dates have been deemed as unreliable in North America. Over time, it is also guessed that the magnetic field of the Earth has declined over time