Growth Points in Nuclear Physics, Volume 2 covers the progress in the fields of nuclear structure and nuclear reactions. This book is composed of three chapters. The first chapter is devoted to nuclear forces and potentials, in particular the optical model potential that enables the elastic scattering of many particles by nuclei to be calculated in a very simple manner. This chapter also deals with the three-body forces and the spin dependence of the nuclear potential. The second chapter describes higher order processes involving two or more stages, specifically their intrinsic interest and the effect they can have on the total cross-section. The third chapter examines heavy ion reactions, one of the most prominent growth areas of contemporary nuclear physics. Heavy ion reactions are particularly sensitive to some features of nuclear structure, and thus constitute a powerful tool in nuclear structure research. This book will prove useful to nuclear physicists.

Dramatic progress has been made in all branches of physics since the National Research Council's 1986 decadal survey of the field. The Physics in a New Era series explores these advances and looks ahead to future goals. The series includes assessments of the major subfields and reports on several smaller subfields, and preparation has begun on an overview volume on the unity of physics, its relationships to other fields, and its contributions to national needs. Nuclear Physics is the latest volume of the series. The book describes current activity in understanding nuclear structure and symmetries, the behavior of matter at extreme densities, the role of nuclear physics in astrophysics and cosmology, and the instrumentation and facilities used by the field. It makes recommendations on the resources needed for experimental and theoretical advances in the coming decade.

The principal goals of the study were to articulate the scientific rationale and objectives of the field and then to take a long-term strategic view of U.S. nuclear science in the global context for setting future directions for the field. Nuclear Physics: Exploring the Heart of Matter provides a long-term assessment of an outlook for nuclear physics. The first phase of the report articulates the scientific rationale and objectives of the field, while the second phase provides a global context for the field and its long-term priorities and proposes a framework for progress through 2020 and beyond. In the second phase of the study, also developing a framework for progress through 2020 and beyond, the committee carefully considered the balance between universities and government facilities in terms of research and workforce development and the role of international collaborations in leveraging future investments. Nuclear physics today is a diverse field, encompassing research that spans dimensions from a tiny fraction of the volume of the individual particles (neutrons and protons) in the atomic nucleus to the enormous scales of astrophysical objects in the cosmos. Nuclear Physics: Exploring the Heart of Matter explains the research objectives, which include the desire not only to better understand the nature of matter interacting at the nuclear level, but also to describe the state of the universe that existed at the big bang. This report explains how the universe can now be studied in the most advanced colliding-beam accelerators, where strong forces are the dominant interactions, as well as the nature of neutrinos.

Proceedings of the Second "Rencontres de l'observatoire", Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France

This book covers the first 35 years of nuclear physics, especially in the areas of radioactivity and radioactive emissions which were the main discoveries in nuclear physics during its first three decades. It follows the nuclear phenomena step by step, paying special attention to outstanding discoveries, such as Curie's discovery of radium, Rutherford-Soddy law, discovery of isotopes, and Rutherford's artificial transmutations. The author aims to present in a critical approach the growth of nuclear physics as seen by a nuclear physicist and historian.