Models of the Atomic Nucleus

Models of the Atomic Nucleus is a largely non-technical introduction to - clear theory - an attempt to explain one of the most important objects in natural science in a way that makes nuclear physics as comprehensible as chemistryorcellbiology. Unlikemostotherscienti?c?elds,thepopularization of nuclear physics has not generally been successful because many fundam- tal issues remain controversial and, even after more than 70 years of study, a "uni?ed theory" of nuclear structure has not yet been established. N- ertheless, despite some widely-acknowledged un?nished business, the theme developed in this book is that each of the many models in use in nuclear t- ory provides a partial perspective on the nucleus that can be integrated into a coherent whole within the framework of a lattice of nucleons. The proposed uni?cation itself is not uncontroversial, but, at the very least, the lattice r- resentationofnuclearstructureillustrateshowacomplexphysicalobjectsuch as the nucleus can be understood as simultaneously exhibiting the properties of a gas, a liquid, a molecular cluster and a solid. The book is divided into three parts. Part I (Chaps. 1-4) introduces the main topics that must be addressed in any discussion of nuclear physics. My intention has been to present a brief, but even-handed summary of the basic modelsthathavebeendevisedtoexplainnuclearphenomenaandtoreviewthe theoretical ideas that have occupied the minds of theorists for many decades. These chapters are historical and are intended to convey what the major insights and conceptual challenges of nuclear physics have been thus far.