Understanding Quantum Physics

Preface 7 1. ATOMIC HISTORY 9 2. THE ATOMIC MODELS 17 2.1 THOMPSON AND RUTHERFORD 17 2.2 ULTRAVIOLET CATASTROPHE 27 2.3 THE PLANCK CONSTANT 33 2.4 QUANTIZATION 38 2.5 BOHR ATOMIC MODEL 48 2.6 QUANTUM ATOMIC MODEL 58 2.7 QUANTUM NUMBER OF SPIN 66 2.8 PRINCIPLE OF EXCLUSION OF PAULI 79 2.9 PRINCIPLE OF HEISENBERG INDETERMINATION 82 2.10 THE WAVE FUNCTION - SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION 90 2.11 SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE 101 2.12 SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT 112 2.13 WAVE- PARTICLE DUALITY 116 2.14 QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT 124 2.15 OTHER INTERPRETATIONS AND THEORIES 133 3. THE ATOM 138 3.1 THE DIMENSIONS OF THE ATOM 138 3.2 THE NUCLEUS AND THE ISOTOPES 140 4. RADIOACTIVITY 144 4.1 NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL RADIOACTIVITY 144 4.2 a DECAY 151 4.3 b- DECAY 152 4.4 b+ or b inverse DECAY 155 4.5 g DECAY 159 5. NUCLEAR FISSION 161 5.1 NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION 161 5.2 UNCONTROLLED FISSION REACTION 165 5.3 CONTROLLED NUCLEAR FISSION 169 6. NUCLEAR FUSION 172 6.1 NUCLEAR FUSION REACTIONS 172 6.2 HYDROGEN BOMB (H BOMB ) 177 6.3 NUCLEAR FUSION IN THE STARS 179 7. MATTER AND ANTIMATTER 187 7.1 THE ANTIMATTER 187 7.2 THE ELEMENTARY PARTICLES 191 7.3 THE GENERATION FERMIONS 193 7.4 THE SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OF THE FERMIONS 197 7.5 BOSONS 199 7.6 HIGGS BOSON 209 7.7 THE GRAVITON BOSON 213 8. PARTICLE ACCELERATORS 215 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 221 BIBLIOGRAPHY 223