In this Very Short Introduction Frank Close describes the historical development of nuclear physics, our understanding of the nucleus, how nuclei form, and the applications of the field in medicine. Exploring key concepts, Frank Close shows how nuclear physics brings the physics of the stars to Earth.

• 1: The fly in the cathedral


• 2: Nuclear alchemy


• 3: Powerful forces


• 4: Nucleosynthesis


• 5: Odds, evens, and shells


• 6: Beyond the Periodic table


• 7: Exotic nuclei


• 8: Applied nuclear physics


• Further reading


• Index

Frank Close is Professor of Physics at Oxford University and a Fellow of Exeter College. He was formerly the Head of the Theoretical Physics Division at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and Head of Communications and Public Education at CERN. He is the author of several books, including the best-selling Lucifer's Legacy (OUP, 2000), and was the winner of the Kelvin Medal of the Institute of Physics for his 'outstanding contributions to the public understanding of physics'. His other books include The Cosmic Onion (1983), The Particle Explosion (1987), End (1988), Too Hot to Handle (1991), and The Particle Odyssey (OUP, 2002). In 2013 Professor Close was awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize for Communication of Science.