Nuclear Physics: Basic Research Serving Society

Table of Contents

Nuclear Physics in the 1990's

Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility

Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Neutrino Physics

Nuclear Astrophysics

Nuclear Structure and Radioactive Beams

Education

Graduate Study

Undergraduate Education

Precollege

Applications of Nuclear Physics

Medical Diagnosis and Treatment

Environmental Science

Energy

Materials

Archaeology and Art

The nucleus is the tiny object at the heart of every atom. The study of its structure, its properties, and its interactions is the domain of nuclear physics. We prepared this brochure to answer two questions. The first question is, "What do nuclear scientists do?" In the first sections of this brochure, we describe the thrust and excitement of today's research in nuclear physics, as well as the contributions nuclear scientists are making to the education of young people in the classroom and in the research laboratory.

The second question is, "What do we gain from our investment in nuclear science?" The product of basic research is new knowledge, the raw material from which beneficial applications emerge, often in quite unpredictable ways. We show in the third section how nuclear physics research leads to new techniques and products that enhance our lives. Although we wrote this section from the perspective of nuclear physics, our intention is to illustrate the importance to society of supporting a broad range of basic research.

Nuclear science continues to push forward the frontiers of understanding and to expand the capabilities of technology. The fruits of present research will undoubtedly lead to new applications as important as those described in this brochure, with similar implications for our individual and national well-being.

Gary Crawley
Wick Haxton
Noémie Benczer-Koller
Virginia Brown
Carl Dover

For the Division of Nuclear Physics
American Physical Society