Introductory Nuclear Physics

by Kenneth S. Krane

This comprehensive text provides an introduction to basic nuclear physics, including nuclear decays and reactions and nuclear structure, while covering the essential areas of basic research and practical applications. Its emphasis on phenomonology and the results of real experiments distinguish this from all other texts available. Discussions of theory are reinforced with examples which illustrate and apply the theoretical formulism, thus aiding students in their reading and analysis of current literature. The text is designed to provide a core of material for students with minimal background in mathematics or quantum theory and offers more sophisticated material in separate sections.

Genres: Physics, Science, Textbooks, Nonfiction, Reference, Mathematics, Academic

Paperback

First published October 22, 1987

Reviews

[Jorge Carvalho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sorry for the non believers, but I loved this book. It was my bible for a bachelor’s degree in physics in the nuclear physics subject. Naturally, a full understanding of this topic requires much deeper quantum mechanics and complex mathematics which are not depicted in this book. It’s almost nuclear physics for the public in general, definitely not for a PHD graduate physics student. During my initial years in physics studying, I went through 5 semesters in quantum mechanics (thank you Paul Dirac and my blessings to the late Dr. Domingos, who personally lectured me for 2,5 years, as I was the only one physically attending his classes!) and I relished going through complex mathematical deductions and the whole process of learning a totally new mathematics approach to solve a complex problem.
But when I went back to university, aiming to (finally!!) finish my bachelor’s, 25 years later, and after a professional career in IT consulting, thus deprived of any exposure whatsoever to complex mathematics, I didn’t possess any of the tools required for such approach to learning nuclear physics. Lucky me, this subject is taught as an introductory level to 3rd year students, with simplified pre-requisites and, thus, the book is just the right level.
Having skipped nuclear physics when I started studying physics, 35 years ago (price to pay due to my extended focus in quantum mechanics) I was happy to now learn it, even if at an introductory level. Anyway, the book title doesn’t promise more than that, “Introduction…”. It provides you with a basic understanding of a wide array of topics within Nuclear. On top of the theoretical basis, it’s got some chapters on nuclear physics applications, be it nuclear medicine, nuclear power or nuclear bombs. Definitely recommended for anyone who is interested in the topic, even more if you are studying the subject as an undergraduate physics student.

[Mariana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has an annoying tendency to skip the calculations and just present the results. That and the fact that it's so long and dense and adds a lot of technical details makes it a bit tough to get through. Add to that the fact that it's some 30 years behind on fields like particle physics that are developing so quickly and I start to wonder whether there isn't a better book out there for nuclear physics.

[Dr M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Part of the Goodreads blurb for Krane's textbook on nuclear physics reads:

Its emphasis on phenomonology and the results of real experiments distinguish this from all other texts available. Discussions of theory are reinforced with examples which illustrate and apply the theoretical formulism, thus aiding students in their reading and analysis of current literature. The text is designed to provide a core of material for students with minimal background in mathematics or quantum theory and offers more sophisticated material in separate sections.

Sounds good? Yes. In theory. In practice, the result is a book that is the epitome of what is wrong with so many American science textbooks: The volume weighs in at slightly less than black-hole forming mass. In his attempt to explain nuclear phyisics, the essential theory of which requires using quantum mechanics as well as a lot of mathematics, to a reader lacking the appropriate background, Krane has produced a text that talks a lot, but provides no real understanding. "Requiring a minimal background in mathematics" is more often than not a science euphemism for "I skip most steps of the derivations and ask the reader to take the results on faith". This is fine if an end result is all you need, but if the aim is to give an understanding of nuclear physics -- i.e. an understanding of what the results mean and how they come about -- it falls way short of the target.

Shying away from mathematical detail and true step-by-step derivations in phyics textbooks usually does more harm than good. While physical understanding is not in the mathematics, it is also impossible to really attain without mathematics. Any physicist (and if you read this book you are assumed to be at least a student of physics) must be comfortable reading mathematics. The reader who is savvy with mathematics will not be scared away by detailed derivations, and the reader who is not a mathematics wizzard is not helped by skipping steps, which just requires that the reader spend considerable time figuring out mathematical details him/herself, instead of spending that time thinking about the underlying ideas.

The sheer amount of text itself is also a problem. While explaining thoroughly is a good thing, brevity is also a virtue, especially in science textbooks, where reading pace is considerably slower than when reading a novel, or a newspaper. Krane fills page after page with text before getting to the point. I, at least, lose momentum having to plow through pages of text between one thought and the next.

The time it takes to just read through Krane's nuclear-physics epic is better spent letting your brain work with a text that takes nuclear theory seriously.

[Lucy]

star rating pending exam result

[Lana Alsulaimani · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a nutshell, this book is good when it comes to concepts. It covered them pretty well and as an introduction it really shows the breadth and how far it comes in the department of physics. My only concern with this book is that it just isn't clear with the calculations and sometimes presents facts with not elaborate explanations. at other points it goes into so much detail and history that I had to reread whole sections because I got lost. It is a good read as an introduction, but it if you are looking to lay a foundation, I can't recommend.

[Brian Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Richard Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" not too long ago, I realized there is a ton of nuclear physics that I don't know. It's not my area of specialty, and I never took any courses as an undergraduate. I simply never learned it!

Why does U235 fission way more readily than U238 with thermal neutrons? (This fact, and the necessary refinement of uranium to extract U235, was perhaps the most resource-intensive and time consuming aspect of making an atomic bomb). Why does gamma decay seem to almost always follow beta decay? Why do nuclei decay via alpha particles and not, say, lithium nuclei? (To his credit, Rhodes explains tons of the physics, just not all, or at least not in sufficient detail).

So, I picked up this fairly thick textbook upon a few recommendations from folks online. It's a great book, and I made my way through it over several months reading a bit here and there. Clear writing, lots of data to support the various concepts. Knowledge of quantum mechanics and a tight belt is all you need to dive in. Perfect for those who want more than the last chapter in their Physics 101 course, but who also aren't really interested in building their own reactor.

[Md.murad Ahmed]

i wnat to read this book to know nuclear physics more.

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for course

It is old, so while the basic physics hasn't changed, the terminology is a bit outdated, the accelerators are largely all gone now, and the fusion chapter was very funny to read 35 years on about how they thought the development was going to go. Also has a very dray academic tone (and I thought the figure placements could have been better for being able to see them at the same time as reading the text about them!)

[Matteo Fulghieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Krane presents only what is needed and nothing more. I began this book without having taken quantum mechanics: a prerequisite of sorts to grasp nuclear physics. Krane effectively delivers a fundamental lesson of QM, in easy language, and proceeds to deliver a fascinating sermon on the behavior of the nucleus. There were times that my questions were left unanswered, but my ability to ask those questions was a gift from Krane to begin with.

[Nicolas Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a few years of on and off reading, but a good complex book, with a huge theorical part but also some concrete application cases. Hard to tell how outdated some of the information are, but a good refresher nonetheless

[Orjan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes vague.

[Superconformal Hassaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nuclear Physics is one of the subjects in which I changed many books before I came to the book that really resonated with me. I remember that started with Segre's book and then switched to Kakani, Kaplan, Burcham, Evans, Mittal Gupta Verma before I came across this masterpiece by Krane. This book is too good and I can really say that if someone just reads it without any help then he/she can understand the basis (and some advanced) topics in the field of nuclear physics with great ease.

Nuclear physics is a subject in which you frequently need to refer to experimental data in order to know that you are on the right track. This book does an excellent job in this regard. Krane's frequent references to relevant experiments and giving different models for nuclear behavior (from easy to subtle) and then backing up those models with experimental data is something that makes this text very very engaging (by the way, I am a theorist and if this book can make me fall in love with experimental data then just imagine that if someone is genuinely interested in experimental nuclear physics, then how much he/she will enjoy this book).

The structure of this book is not very different from the structure of an ordinary book on nuclear physics. Since in the study of nuclear physics, one needs to be very good in the addition of angular momentum and other elements of quantum mechanics, this book devotes a chapter to a revision of quantum mechanics. Then, there is a chapter on basic nuclear properties like its radius, mass distribution, and charge distribution. Afterward, there is a whole chapter on the modeling of the nuclear force (modeling of the nuclear force is a subtle thing because the force between nucleons can depend on the spins of the nucleons and the nuclear force also gets saturated). The cross-sections in different scenarios are calculated and the behavior of the nuclear force is tried to be understood.

Afterward, there is a whole chapter on nuclear models. We do know that different models of nuclei are good for different kinds of predictions for nuclear behavior. So, the liquid drop model is discussed (for the collective behavior of the nucleus) and the shell model is discussed (to study energy levels of nucleons in the nucleus). Although the details of the calculations that allow one to work out the nuclear energy levels from wood Saxon potential are not given as these calculations are mainly done numerically.

Separate chapters are dedicated to the different kinds of radioactive decays. The chapter on beta decays discusses the Fermi theory of beta decays and its shortcomings. The chapter on gamma decay is very extensive and it also discusses the internal conversion and the Mossbauer effect along with the study of the gamma decay.

The remaining important chapters are regarding nuclear reactions (very important), neutron physics, nuclear fission (the details of the fission reaction and the details of the fission reactors are discussed very extensively), and nuclear fusion (very important). In the chapter on nuclear fusion, the application of plasma physics in controlling nuclear fusion is discussed along with different techniques for fusion (including the Tocamac and the palate method).

The remainder of the book has more specific topics (e.g. application of nuclear physics in understanding the stellar reactions).

I hope this was helpful. Happy reading.

[Peter Sprunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of two textbooks that you need to study nuclear physics, the other being Nuclear Physics in a Nutshell by Carlos Bertulani. It uses numerous experimental results to illustrate why we believe what we do about the nucleus. Therefore this book seems a bit wordy while reading, but once you are done with a section you understand the underlying principals, not just the equations needed for manipulation. I'm just completing my Ph.D. and I have been to many labs. On nearly everyone's shelf is an old beat-up (i.e. used) copy of Krane which is a testament to it's superiority over all other nuclear physics textbooks that have been written since.
The only drawback to this book is that it is written for an upper-level undergraduate or a beginning graduate and does not dive into the hairy mathematics that often occur. The textbook by Bertulani takes care of this.

[Gaurav Goyal]

It is very good book for understanding the concept of nuclear physics.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bible of nuclear physics!