7. The Future and History of Nuclear Physics
What are scientists working on in nuclear physics?
A lot. Like a lot a lot. Let’s see what’s happening.
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) - These are compact, portable, safer nuclear fission reactors. They’re smaller than normal reactors, so they produce less energy, but that’s why they’re used in different places (more on that in a sec). And, they’re made in factories. After being made in a factory, units are shipped to the place they need to be and assembled onsite. It’s like a simple IKEA version of a regular nuclear plant. Get the main pieces, build it up, and voila! A (relatively) mini reactor is born.
We are working on these because they’re cheaper upfront, safer (if things start going sideways, SMRs shut down on their own due to something called passive safety systems), more accessible (can power a remote island or military base), and they’re still clean (during operation, there are no carbon emissions). We’re still in the testing phase - they’re not widespread yet, but places like the UK and US are trying to manufacture them to power remote areas and to replace older coal plants.
Next-generation fission reactors - Next-gen (or Gen IV) reactors are improved fission reactors that are (in theory, for now) more efficient, safer, less wasteful, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly. The main concept is still the same - split angry atoms, release energy etc, but the way this is done is different.
For example, coolants like molten salt or liquid lead are being looked into. They would improve efficiency and safety, because they can deal with higher temperatures without needing extremely high pressure. But with water as a coolant (like in current reactors), to keep it a liquid at super high temperatures, you need it to be under very high pressure because that stops the water from expanding into steam. (It needs to be a liquid so it can transfer and carry heat more efficiently). More pressure = more risk of bad accidents and more difficulty actually maintaining it.
Also, some next-gen reactors are trying to reuse existing nuclear waste as fuel, and considering that waste is probably the most controversial part of current reactors, this is absolutely great. The ways they are trying to do this are by using liquid fuel (that you can pour and melt waste into), using faster neutrons (to break down heavier waste products like plutonium), and other definitely not complicated methods.
Remember passive safety systems? Next-gen reactors are working on that too. This means that when emergency strikes, the reactor can chill out using physics, not human input or power. Examples include using natural convection* to move the coolant (hot water rises, cooler water sinks), using heat-absorbing materials to you know…absorb heat and using gravity to lead water to the reactor core (bye bye pumps). This makes reactors safer and cheaper in the long run.
Next-gen reactors are also trying to replace poor old uranium 😢. Basically, research is going into Thorium-232, because it’s way more naturally abundant than uranium. it’s not a fissile material until it absorbs a neutron and decays into Protactinium-233, and then to Uranium-233 (it’s back, just a little different ☺️). Using thorium would be more efficient and the waste products would be much less dangerous and long-lived. But (I’m sorry to disappoint), we need more research, data, and testing before we get a fully-operational thorium plant.
There’s more ways we’re trying to improve current fission reactors obviously, but the main point is making nuclear energy safer, cleaner, cheaper and more efficient. And maybe restoring some trust in the public - after all that is kind of important.
So, yeah, scientists are currently working on upgraded nuclear reactors, and although most are in the testing phase, I still think we should get excited. Science is doing its thing.
*I realise I kinda just threw convection out there. It deserves a little explanation, because it’s cool 😎. So water nearer to the crazy hot reactor core heats up more. And when water heats up, it expands - this makes it less dense. And gravity comes in and so the cooler, denser water further from the core sinks and the less dense water rises. And this just keeps happening - it’s a cycle or what we call a “convection current”. See? Cool.
Fusion (the goal) - We know fusion. We love her. She’s just a bit (extremely) difficult. Lots of people are working on fusion. We’ve got the big one: ITER - International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (definitely not a mouthful). ITER is located in France and is the first large-scale tokamak. 35 nations came together for ITER, all determined to make fusion work. How amazing is that? It’s still in the building phase but the machine’s target is to make first plasma in 2035, fusion experiments planned for the late 2030s, and an ignition goal of 10x more output than input (written as Q = 10) is planned for 2039. If you really think about it, we’re not too far away.
Others are on the case too such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Tokamak Energy. Helion Energy (America) are actually aiming for an electricity-producing fusion plant by only 2028! Are you getting excited? How cool would that be?
AI - Yep, Artificial Intelligence is also being integrated into nuclear physics (I’m getting a little scared). To monitor and find problems in reactors, simulate fusion experiments or possible disasters, even to monitor nuclear-powered spacecraft. AI is getting better, and it’s going to be able to improve efficiency massively in the field - it’s a time saver and it helps us to see things we may have originally missed.
Scientist are working on so much in nuclear physics (way more than I can fit in a single blog, which says a lot considering how lengthy this blog is), it’s a busy, slightly chaotic (in the best way) field.
And, if all of this works out, the world could look pretty different.
Imagine a world powered by the same fuel as the Sun. And with SMRs and next-gen reactors everywhere. Nuclear energy isn’t something to fear anymore. Fission and fusion working together the chill out the Earth. Carbon emissions decreasing year-by-year. Fossil fuels growing older and older. Cleaner air and a better life for the future generations.
That sounds good to me. And it’s all thanks to nuclear physics.
What enabled us to get to this point though? For us to even be able to have these dreams and goals? Time for some history. 😮 Yep, that’s right.
Ok, before you leave, history is important. Even if it’s not your favourite subject, it’s crucial to know how nuclear physics has come this far, and to learn about the inspirational (and cool 😎) scientists that are behind some life-changing discoveries.
Who discovered the nucleus, and how did they manage that?
Enter Ernest Rutherford. It’s 1909 and the perfect time to fire alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil. Why not? Of course, there was a reason behind this. At this time, the prevailing atomic model was the plum pudding model, which described the atom as a ball of positive charge with negative electrons embedded evenly through it. Ernest Rutherford created an experiment to test this model.
Alpha particles are relatively heavy consisting of two protons and two neutrons as I mentioned before, making them positively charged. This meant that if the plum pudding was the true model, when fired at the gold foil, the alpha particles would pass straight through, because positive charge was believed to be diffused through the volume of an atom (not concentrated and therefore, not strong).
Did this happen? Not quite. Which must have come as quite a shock to Rutherford and his students, Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden (yes, there were two Ernests). The plum pudding model was obviously (quite) a bit flawed. Most alpha particles actually did pass through the foil. Some though were deflected (they changed path) by large angles (>4°) and others (very few), came straight back off of the foil. Ok, what does this mean?
In 1911, Rutherford published his findings. Most alpha particles passed through the foil because an atom is mostly empty space. Some of them being deflected showed a small concentration of positive charge (the nucleus). The few that were sent straight back show that the nucleus is very dense and therefore, consists of most of an atom’s mass. Wow. The start of the study of the nucleus. See, aren’t you inspired by Rutherford’s genius?
Fun fact: The nucleus is calculated to be around 1/10,000th the size of the whole atom. Again, 😲.
What role did Marie Curie play in discovering radioactivity?
A big one.
Marie Curie is the Queen of Radioactivity. Literally. Here’s what she did.
Let’s go back in time, to 1896. French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel (I quite like that name to be honest - sounds very…um 🤔…French?) discovers that uranium gives off some kind of mystical, invisible energy. He figured this out through an interesting experiment that you should look into - Becquerel’s photographic plate experiment. Anyway, he wasn’t sure what the huhu this energy was.
Enter Lady Radioactivity - Polish-French physicist and chemist Marie Curie. She was like, “we got to figure this stuff out” (although maybe she didn’t use those exact words). So what she did was test loads of other elements to see if they were also weird like uranium.
And what did she discover? That thorium also did that. And pitchblende (a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral ore) gave off way more radiation than pure uranium alone. She deduced that there must’ve been other radioactive elements inside pitchblende. She and her husband Pierre processed tons of pitchblende. They boiled it, crushed it, dissolved it etc to separate out substances. They measured how radioactive the substances were (more on that at the end), until they isolated the source. They then found polonium (named after Poland 🇵🇱) and radium (named after the Latin word for “ray”). Polonium was over 400 times more radioactive than uranium, and radium was even more than that. She had discovered 2 new elements. And that property that they all have? She called it radioactivity. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that from somewhere before.
As well as this, she found a way to measure how much radiation was being released AND she showed that radiation was coming from inside the atom, it wasn’t a chemical property. Whatever form uranium was in (solid, liquid or part of a compound), radiation was still given off. This showed that radiation wasn’t because of how uranium interacts with other atoms (a chemical property), but it was actually coming from the inside of the uranium atoms. This is important because it literally started the spark for nuclear physics. If atoms could change internally, there had to be some other stuff inside the atom (it wasn’t indivisible). And there was. The nucleus. Discovered by?… Ernest Rutherford.
Basically, Marie Curie was super cool.
She was so cool that she got 2 Nobel Prizes: Physics in 1903 with her husband Pierre and Henri Becquerel, and Chemistry in 1911 - a solo win for discovering polonium and radium.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know that radiation was dangerous. She went all out with it. Radium in her pockets and samples on her desk for fun. She died in 1934, aged 66, from aplastic anemia - an illness believed to be caused by long-term exposure to ionising radiation.
Her notebooks, clothes etc are actually still radioactive to this day, and are kept in lead-lined boxes in France.
So yeah, that’s Marie Curie, the Queen of Radioactivity and one of the main founders of nuclear physics.
Extra: how do we measure radioactivity? Good question. We use something called activity, which tells us how many decays happen per second. The unit for activity is named after Henri Becquerel (I’m not the only one who likes his name it seems). 1 decay per second is equal to 1 becquerel. To find activity, we use special, calibrated radiation detectors. There’s scintillation counters which use special crystals that light up when radiation hits it. These flashes are turned into electrical signals and then counted. Or there’s gamma spectrometers or ionisation chambers. There’s loads of methods. What did Marie Curie use to measure radioactivity though? Technology was way less advanced back then, but she found a way. She used an electrometer. What an electrometer does is measure tiny electric currents. Now, you remember that radiation is ionising. Well, it can ionise air. Which creates electrically charged particles. So more radiation = more ionisation = more current = higher reading on the electrometer. It may not be the most precise, reliable method, but it worked.
Now, you can’t tell me you aren’t inspired by Curie. Maybe history isn’t that bad after all.
What are some key milestones in the field?
To go through the whole of the history of nuclear physics with immense detail would probably take quite a while. Shall we look at some highlights?
The foundations - These milestones are the birth of nuclear physics. The pillars. Let’s start in 1896. You remember what happened? Henri Becquerel discovers the mysterious stuff being emitted from uranium. 2 years later, both Curies isolate polonium and radium - the field of radioactivity is truly born. Fast forward just a little into 1905. Albert Einstein, then just 26 years old, published 4 papers. One of them containing the ultimate equation: E = mc^2. Boom (literally). The fields of energy, and unfortunately, destruction, were forever changed. 6 years later, in 1911, what happened? Rutherford’s gold foil experiment. The nucleus was discovered. Things are getting good folks. Let’s skip ahead a little to 1932, A guy called James Chadwick casually discovered neutrons. This explained atomic mass, and neutrons kind of play a little (big) part in a nuclear fission chain reaction, don’t you think? Essentially, they’re really important.
Fission and bombs - It’s 1938, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann bombard uranium with neutrons, and for some puzzling reason barium was produced. This was then explained by Lise Meitner and Otto (yes, another Otto, scientists seem to like having the same first names) Frisch. Nuclear fission has been discovered. Now, we move to 1942, and physicist Enrico Fermi led a team that designed and executed a very, very cool experiment. In the squash court (I don’t know why) of the University of Chicago, the first self-sustaining, controlled nuclear chain reaction was achieved (called Chicago Pile-1). It’s about to get crazy. It’s now 1945, and not a nice year for science, in my opinion. The first nuclear bombs are dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “Nuclear” became a word to fear and the world was forever changed.
Fission and energy - It’s 1951. We’re in the Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 (EBR-1) in Idaho. And guess what? The first electricity from nuclear energy had just been produced. It was just a little, but this is what kickstarted the path to cleaner energy. And in 1954, the first nuclear power plant is opened. It’s called Obninsk, in the USSR. The power of the nucleus is used for good. Then, we hit 1970s-80s. The use of nuclear power skyrockets, but then slows way down due to the fear of accidents (Three Mile Island, 1979, and Chernobyl, 1986). Things are getting less good folks. Fast forward to 2011. The Fukushima disaster happens and more fear is created. A global debate is sparked and policies on safety are revisited.
Fusion - It’s the 2020’s now (it actually is this time), and we’ve set our sights on fusion. In December 2022, ignition was achieved for the first time by the National Ignition Facility (NIF). 3.15 megajoules of energy was produced, with an input of 2.05 megajoules. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t enough to power cities, but it’s an amazing start. We’re getting somewhere. Since then, NIF has achieved fusion several more times. And we’ve also made significant advances in our tokamaks, with companies like Tokamak Energy and the UK Atomic Energy Authority working toward more efficient, cost-effective designs.
So yeah, that’s the history of nuclear physics, well a good part of it.
How cool was that? All these crazy smart people discovering new stuff and accidentally changing the whole world while they’re at it. Very inspirational, if you ask me.
Now, let’s jump back into the present and look at some crazy facts and some common misconceptions within nuclear physics.
8. Fun Facts and Misconceptions
Can you really “glow” from radiation (like in movies)?
No. That’d be cool though.
But then, where does that idea come from? Radiation making stuff glow?
Enter Cherenkov radiation.
When water is near highly radioactive materials, you can see a bluish glow being emitted. This is seen in the cooling pools of nuclear reactors (where the radioactive fuel rods are kept for stability), in water tanks used to detect high-energy particles (Cherenkov detectors), and even medicine.
Let’s break this down.
Why? Why is there a bluish glow coming from the water?
Ok, first of all, let’s talk about light. Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. In a vacuum (a region mostly emptied of matter e.g. space), that is. But in water, light slows down to about 75% of its original speed. This is because light interacts with the atoms in the water, and it keeps getting absorbed and re-emitted again and again. It’s like when you see someone you know at a party (something I’ve definitely been to 🎉), and you start travelling towards them. Along the way, a bunch of boring, irritating people stop you for a quick chat. You’re slower than you would be if there were no people in between you and your friend.
Light is slower in water. So what? This means that high-energy electrons (emitted from radioactive decay) can travel faster than light (again, in water). Relative to photons (light particles), electrons are massive and they are charged meaning they don’t interact with atoms in the same way. They are that one friend (maybe a rugby player) who just runs through the crowd to find you, pushing through everyone on the way. They don’t stop for chats. They just go.
So yeah. High-energy electrons can travel faster than light in water because of the kinetic energy (can move fast) they have from the decay emission, and because even though they are heavier than photons, they are still super light (not a lot of energy is required to accelerate them).
But, why does that lead to a glow?
The high-energy electrons disturb the electric fields in the water molecules. The molecules aren’t happy about this so they release some energy to calm down. This energy takes the form of photons (light). The waves* of light overlap and create a cone of light that spreads out behind the particle. This ‘shockwave’ is Cherenkov radiation. Analogy: It’s like that rugby friend bumping in to loads of people. They get angry and in order to release their anger, they all sigh. Those sighs join together to create big, loud sighs. (Not the best analogy, sorry).
Why is it blue though?
Well, light has lots of colours with different wavelengths. Blue and violet light are higher energy than others such as red and yellow light, so the atoms emit them more. Our eyes are more sensitive to blue light, so that’s what we see.
How cool is that?
*I’ve described light as particles and waves. This isn’t to confuse you, I promise. This is known as wave-particle duality. Light is both waves and particles. We see it differently at different times, in different experiments. I won’t start yapping about this, don’t worry. But, fellow nerds, I think you’ll enjoy looking into this. Ok, next question!
Bananas and peanut butter: radioactive besties. Wait, what?!?
Ever had a PB and B (Banana) sandwich? I’m more of a PB and J or PB and Choc kind of gal. Anyway, peanut butter and bananas are kind of radioactive. Happy feasting!
Hold on Sahara, you’re telling me that some foods are actually radioactive? Why, yes, yes I am.
Bananas naturally contain potassium-40, which is a radioisotope. Peanuts grow in the ground (which I defo knew before this 🫣), therefore radium-226 (a radioisotope commonly found in the soil) ends up in them.
Have no fear though, per banana, there is a radiation dose of 0.1 microsieverts. And per jar of peanut butter, there is about 0.12 microsieverts. What does that mean again? Ok, so radiation is measured in sieverts (Sv), but more commonly millsieverts (mSv) or microsieverts (µSv). At above 100 milliSv annually, the risk of getting cancer slightly increases. Even then it’s not certain. You’d have to eat over 1 million bananas or over 830,000 jars of peanut butter a year just to reach that number. I think we’re going to be ok.
Radiation is everywhere - air, water, other examples that I can’t think of right now. But the key here is that there are only small traces of it. Basically, we’re safe. So, go ahead and eat some peanut butter or a banana or even some brazil nuts (also radioactive hehe).
Let’s talk more about this “radiation is everywhere” thing.
Is there a difference between natural and man-made radiation?
Yes. One is man-made. The other is natural. It’s in the name.
But, what does that mean? And does it matter?
Natural - This is the radiation from natural radioactive isotopes, cosmic rays, and other nature stuffs. This is the radiation that we’re always exposed to. I mean it’s even in our food! Around 80 percent of radiation we’re exposed to is from natural sources. That’s a lot. Radiation is something that initially seems terrifying, but we have to remember that it’s just there. It always has been. Natural radiation is pretty much unavoidable, but it’s low doses and pretty friendly.
Man-made - This radiation comes from medical practices like x-rays, nuclear power plants, and products such as smoke detectors. It is the same type of radiation as natural. Gamma, beta, or alpha. They both release the same radiation. Of course, dosage will be different. Depending on the situation, man-made radiation may be a higher dosage than some natural sources. But, man-made sources are normally controlled. Like in medicine and power production, specific precautions are taken to ensure radiation contamination stays minimal.
Basically, what i’m trying to say is that radiation is everywhere. And most of the exposure isn’t from scary man-made sources, it’s from nature. Hopefully, this has made you feel a bit safer when it comes to radiation. Or maybe, I’ve scared you even more (oops, sorry). Either way, we’ve done some learning. That’s a win to me. 🥳
9. Why Does Nuclear Physics Matter?
All this yap. And for what? What is the point? Why is nuclear physics important? I mean sure, it’s fun, but is it actually useful?
Yes. Just to sum up. Yes, it is.
How does nuclear physics help us understand the universe?
Remember when I said that learning about the tiny stuff can help us understand the big, not-so-tiny stuff too? This is where that comes in.
Stars ⭐ - Every star is powered by fusion. Fusion is the reason stars exist and shine oh so bright. Understanding fusion (a massive part of nuclear physics) allow us to understand the life-givers of our universe - why they give of so much energy (E=mc^2 and the mass defect), how long they live (depends on rate of fusion/fuel burning), what happens when they die (fusion slows and gravity takes over), and more. So yeah, nuclear physics teaches us about those tiny (not actually tiny), glowy, beautiful things up in the sky.
Nucleosynthesis - Uh oh. Big word alert. Don’t worry. It’ll make sense in a sec. Have you ever heard the sentence “we are made of star-stuff”? This was said by American astronomer and planetary scientist, Carl Sagan. Now, what is he on about? During the nuclear fusion in stars, depending on it’s mass, heavier elements than helium form, like carbon and oxygen going all the way through the periodic table up to iron. These elements are what we are made of. We are literally made up of byproducts from deceased stars. Sagan was not kidding.
This process of creating new nuclei from pre-existing nuclei or nucleons is called nucleosynthesis. It’s like a broader term for fusion, fission, and all other nuclear reactions like that. And it explains what we’re made of, but also how the very first elements were formed (🫢 woah). When the Big Bang occurred, and the universe was all hot and dense and stuff, the lightest elements (hydrogen, deuterium, helium and a little bit of lithium) were able to be produced through nucleosynthesis (primordial nucleosynthesis to be fancy).
To summarise, nuclear physics teaches us about nucleosynthesis, which tells us about what we’re made of (dead star bits) and how elements got here in the first place. Pretty important, I think.
Neutron stars and black holes - We talked about nuclear physics and the end of a star’s life a little bit. Let’s go into more detail.
So stars are powered by fusion and the energy and pressure produced from this is fighting against gravity, who is trying to squish the Sun inwards. We’ve been through that (🤺). But then, once fuel runs out, and gravity gets the advantage, what happens next depends on the mass of the star.
Our Sun is a little guy (well, relatively speaking). It doesn’t do really weird stuff when it dies. It expands and cools, forming something called a red giant. And then it whooshes the outer layers away (which forms a really beautiful planetary nebula) leaving only a lonely core. This becomes a white dwarf (small, hot, glowy thing), and then years later, after much cooling, it fades into a black dwarf. Not tooooo weird.
If the star is bigger than the Sun, stuff gets a bit crazy. The core collapses under all the gravity and a supernova is triggered. You know, that big, pretty boom we talked about that releases cosmic rays? Anyway, the outer layers are now gone. The core, again, is left behind (it’s not very popular is it?)
If the core is around 1.4 - 2.2 (debated) times the mass of our Sun, we get a neutron star. The gravitational pressure is being such a bully that electrons and protons get pushed into each other, forming neutrons. So we’ve got is a small, super dense ball of mostly neutrons.
And when is say dense, I mean dense. Let’s take a tablespoon of the neutron star and put it on my weighing scale. Oops, we broke it. You know why? That little piece weighs over 1 billion tons - that’s around 900 billion kg. Nope, that’s not a typo. Crazy.
Alright this is all cool and stuff Sahara, but what does nuclear physics have to do with this? (That was you to me).
The answer is everything. Let’s break it down.
Neutron Degeneracy Pressure (I’m seriously thinking about starting a petition to ban big, scary words because I’ve had enough): Remember that little mention of the Pauli Exclusion Principle in Section 3? The section with the bunk beds and all of that? This is connected to that. So we talked about how only a certain amount of nucleons can fill an energy level in a nucleus. This is because 2 identical fermions (particles like neutrons, protons and electrons) can’t exist in the same energy level at the same time. This is the same in a neutron star. Neutrons are getting squeezed together, but they can’t occupy the same state - there’s a limit to the squeezing. They start pushing back to stop any more bullying, and this is called neutron degeneracy pressure. And it’s about nuclear particles and their behaviour - it’s a part of nuclear physics.
Equation of State (EoS) of Nuclear Matter: This is a formula that physicists use to try and figure out the behaviour of this weird (but again, cool) star thing. So what they do is they study how nucleons interact when they are realllyyyyy close together (they get claustrophobic), how degeneracy pressure kicks in and other simple stuff like that. They use all of this and basically they use it to figure out “What goes on when you take some neutrons and crush them together to make a dense, dense ball? How do they react?”
And after putting in some numbers and fancy physics symbols, this formula tells us how big a neutron star can get before collapsing in on itself, if it resists gravity or just lets it do its thing, how much mass it can have, and yeah.
It’s pretty cool (and you know, slightly confusing), and guess what? It’s a fundamental part of nuclear physics. Nuclear physics literally tells us what those strange neutron things are up to. Cool right?
Neutron stars aren’t actually the ultimate weird thing. If the core is about 20 solar masses (20x the mass of our Sun) after it supernovas and stuff, well, a black hole kind of forms. The gravity is being such a bully that even neutron degeneracy calls it a day (😱). The limit reaches a limit. The gravity crushes the core into a point of infinite density (the singularity), and even light can’t escape from there. Physics kind of breaks down from here, and it gets really weird, but yeah, that’s basically what happens.
What does that have to do with nuclear physics? Well, nuclear physics tells us at what point the matter just calls it a day and the gravity wins as the world champion - when a neutron star becomes a black hole. This is called the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit.
So, that’s what nuclear physics tells us about the universe. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s so much more, but the point is nuclear physics is so useful. It teaches us about ourselves, the universe and even the really weird, cool stuff in it.
But if nuclear physics is that useful (it is), what would the world look like without it?
What would life look like without nuclear physics?
Quite boring, to be honest. But, you know what’s coming…why? Let’s get into it.
Bye 🌍 nuclear energy - No research into the nucleus and its potential means no nuclear power plants. Many may be happy about this, but wait. Nuclear energy provides around 10 percent of the world’s electricity today. That’s a lot considering the world is quite big. Also, many countries depend on nuclear energy way more. For example, France gets approximately 63-80 percent of it’s electricity from nuclear energy (well done France, or should I say très bien 🇫🇷). With no nuclear power, fossil fuels would likely be relied upon more heavily. And there would be more greenhouse gases being dumped into the atmosphere, and then that leads to global warming and then BOOM. Everyone is dead. Sorry, that was a little too dark and unnecessarily dramatic. But you get the gist. Without nuclear physics, and therefore nuclear power, the air we breathe would likely be way more polluted and harmful.
Adiós 🇪🇸 fusion dreams and core astrophysics knowledge - We know how nuclear physics helps us to understand the universe. Stars, nucleosynthesis, the Big Bang, supernovae, and fusion and our own Sun. Without nuclear physics, let’s just say there’d be a ton of missing gaps here. And without knowledge, applications of the knowledge are gone too. So nuclear fusion? Poof. Disappeared. Our goal for a cleaner, electricity-efficient future is severely disrupted. Oh, also, I’ve mentioned that we’re literally made of star stuff. Nuclear physics actually teaches us about ourselves. Slightly (extremely) important, no?
See you later 🇺🇸/🏴? medical technology - ****No radiation therapy for cancer, no radioactive tracers and PET scans, and no sterilisation of medical equipment using radiation. What does this mean? Less treatments, slower and less diagnosis, more infections, more pressure on hospitals to sterilise equipment in less efficient ways (radiation sterilisation is used for 40-50 percent of all single-use medical equipment). Ultimately, this leads to more death. As scary as radiation sounds, it can save lives. Sometimes. Not all the time. But sometimes, it’s great. We need nuclear physics to understand this complex tech.
Ciao 🇮🇹 radiometric dating - Carbon dating and other-elements dating? Vanished. No nuclear physics, no figuring out how old fossils, rocks and even the Earth are. We’d have to vaguely guess and look at rock layering. Way less cool. And way less accurate. We wouldn’t know how old our own home is. Isn’t that crazy? Nuclear physics teaches about the past, helps us in the present and gives hope for the future. Don’t leave us nuclear physics! Pwease. 🥺 I’m sorry, I’ll stop now.
Auf Wiedersehen 🇩🇪 knowledge of the atom - No nuclear physics = no knowledge of the nucleus. No strong force, no understanding the interactions of protons and neutrons, and a lot of other stuff. Modern particle physics and quantum mechanics etc would look crazy different, and much less developed. Nuclear physics is very much foundational and extremely important to many other fields in physics, so removing nuclear physics out of the equation? Physics as a whole would not be doing so great.
Au revoir 🇫🇷 nuclear weapons - Wait, that’s good right? Yes, in my opinion, a world without nuclear weapons is a better world. Less fear, less pain, less loss. But any knowledge can be used for good and for bad. No knowledge means no bad stuff, and sure, that’s great. But it also means no good too. No potential for greatness. So, we have to accept the bad with the good. Because humans are very irritating, petty things (not you, you’re great 🫶), who sometimes like to taint science with destruction, but there are the ones who use nuclear physics to help others. And that’s what we should focus on. Changing the world for the better.
So, a world without nuclear physics? A miserable place, with a lack of knowledge and potential. So let’s be grateful for nuclear physics. And let’s learn more! About the world around us and our place in it. Because, knowledge helps us to figure out what the huhu is going on.
And let’s take a moment to appreciate the nucleus. Small, but mighty, powerful and life-changing. Way to go, little guy!
Why is it important for everyone (not just scientists) to understand nuclear physics?
What a great question.
Nuclear physics is fundamental to everyday life. You don’t have to be an expert (you can be though), but a foundational understanding of it is super important. But… you guessed it: why?
Energy - Energy and climate change and fossil fuels and all of that are some of the most talked about topics in society today. Understanding the opportunities nuclear energy provides, as well as the drawbacks, can help you navigate a world where a lot of information can be misleading or unnecessarily scary. Knowledge helps you form a rational opinion. That’s pretty important I think.
It’s a part of everyday life - We know nuclear physics is everywhere. Knowing about it makes some stuff less scary and mysterious. For example, we mentioned tracers. If, one day, you or someone you know, has to take one, you’ll actually know what’s going on, and why. And then radiation, it’s everywhere. Literally. Knowing just a bit about that can make you less likely to worry about death and/or zombie transformations from eating 2 bananas in a day.
Not-so-fun stuff - I’m sure the terms “nuclear war” or “we’re going to die” have come up in some of your conversations. Nuclear weapons do exist. Learning about nuclear physics and science and what that has to do with politics and war can help you to understand what the huhu that newsperson is on about. Nuclear physics truly is a gateway to the world around you: the bad, the good, and even the scary.
Fun stuff - Like the rest of physics, nuclear physics is really fun. And challenging. And interesting. And it just makes you question everything. In the best way possible. It’s so easy to scroll on YouTube or stare at a wall (I know from experience), but I think we should start learning new stuff a bit more. The blog, for example, was quite difficult to do. I had to understand sometimes complex (to me, anyway) topics so I could explain them simply. That was hard. But the best thing ever. I got to learn new things and share my passion with you and everyone else who reads this. Thinking deeply is fun, it can be scary to start with, but just jump in the deep end. You’ll do great! Nuclear physics is a great path to go down to start your thinking journey: it’s important, it’s relevant, it’s difficult, but it’s satisfying. Ok, I’m going to calm down my nerdiness now.
In conclusion, nuclear physics = brilliant + important + very very cool. 👍 🤍
The End (of this blog, not of everything)
I see you’ve reached the end of this blog. Well done! If you’ve actually read it of course. If you’ve just scrolled down right to the end, congrats for being able to scroll I guess? I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed making it. I wanted this to be a space where you can learn fantastic physics with another enthusiastic geek. Hopefully, this blog made learning a little less lonely and a little more fun for you. Because trust me, I know what it’s like learning alone, having a passion with no one to share it with. And it can be tough. Really tough. But now, you’ve got a friend, just as passionate and nerdy as you, learning by your side. At least, that’s how I hope the blog made you feel.
I’m hoping you can see the beauty in nuclear physics. The opportunity, the power, and just the interesting, crazy stuff. Physics isn’t the most popular. It has the reputation of being hard or complicated. But that’s what we should love about it. It makes you think and it makes you ask questions. It changes the world. I wanted to show off what nuclear physics is capable of, and the stuff that truly makes my mind blow. So, without getting too emotional, thank you, truly, for reading this and being part of my learning journey. I’ve loved sharing my passion with you.
Now, time for some good ol’ advertisement (maybe less emotional). You’re already on my website, so you might as well check back in for some of my other blogs coming soon.
If you’re like me, this blog would’ve answered a lot of questions. But also raised a billion more. Like how do particles annihilate? What even is energy? If energy can’t be created or destroyed, how did the universe even come into existence? Can something come from nothing? What is “nothing”? Or even: What’s the meaning of life? Actually, maybe not that one. Actually, maybe exactly that one. And other light, simple, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy questions like those.
Luckily, I’m creating a separate blog called “Questioning Literally Everything” (brilliant title, I am aware), where physics and philosophy have a little meet-cute. That’s a space where you can sit with me, read and ponder your existence. Sounds fun right?
Right, now I need a nap after all this nuclear physics yap. Thanks for reading and see you in the next one! 😴
Hold on! Before you leave and I sleep, I have one more important thing to share with you. What is a nuclear physicist’s (that’s you) favourite food?
…
Fission chips. 🤣🤣🤣