Friday, January 14

• Intro. to Nuclear Physics (look at chapters 27 & 28 for atomic physics)
• Review of atomic physics (Z, N, A numbers)

Monday, January 17th - No School

Tuesday, January 18

• isotopes, nucleons, unified mass unit
• Size of the nucleus and nucleons
• Nuclear forces (review of four fundamental forces)

Wednesday, January 19

• Life cycle of stars that end up as brown dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, novae and supernovae
• Degenerate matter in neutron stars (how p+ and e- turn into neutrons too)
• Calculate diameter and density of neutron stars
• Compare density of nucleus to density of atoms

Thursday, January 20

• P. 967, 1, 3, 4, 8 due
• Binding energy

Friday, January 21

• Some other binding energy examples
• Intro. to radioactivity

Monday, January 24

• P. 968, 9-10, 12-13 due
• Go over problems in class

Tuesday, January 25

• Radioactive sources/geiger counter examples
• Writing nuclear reactions (alpha and beta decay and decay chains)

Wednesday, January 26

• Go over problems from last week
• The neutrino as a product of beta decaysw & neutrino detection

Thursday, January 27

• P. 969, 25-28 due

Tuesday, February 1 and Wednesday, February 2 – No school – Snow days

Monday, February 1

• Work on more problems

Thursday, February 3

• Nuclear power plants

Friday, February 4

• Nuclear reactor at PSU
• Nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers
• Protection from radiation in medicine

Monday, February 7

• Half life theory

Tuesday, February 8

• Half life calculations

Wednesday, February 9

• P. 968; 15-17, 19-21 due

Thursday, February 10

• P. 970; 22-23, 34-35, 53-54 due

Friday, February 11

• Chapters 7 & 8 (Hawking) and Chapters 29 & 30 (Serway) test