Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic CosmosThe legendary Isaac Asimov starts what is perhaps the finest of all his books with a simple query: How finely can a piece of matter be divided? But like many simple questions, this one leads readers on a far-flung quest for a final answer, a search that encompasses such fascinating phenomena as light and electricity and their components--strange but real bits of matter that challenge our assumptions about the very nature of time and space. 40 illustrations. |
Contents
Combining the Phenomena | 42 |
CHAPTER THREE | 58 |
CathodeRay Particles | 66 |
Copyright | |
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alpha particles American physicist antielectron antineutrino antiparticle antiproton atomic nucleus atomic number atomic weight attraction baryon baryon number beta particles bombarded break breakdown called carbon cathode rays charged particles chemical chemist cosmic rays detected discovered Earth ejected elec electric charge electric current electron neutrino elements emitted energy exchange particle exist explain Fermi fission flavor fusion galaxies gamma rays gravitational graviton Greek word hadrons half-life happens helium helium-4 hydrogen atom hydrogen-2 isotope law of conservation lepton number leptons light magnetic field mass number massive matter meson metal molecules momentum move negatively charged neutron Nobel prize object orbits oxygen packing fraction periodic table pions positively charged positron produced properties proton quantum number quark radiation radioactive radium received a Nobel Rutherford scientists seemed shell speed spin stable isotopes stars strong interaction subatomic particles suppose tauon temperature theory thorium ticles trillion trons Universe uranium wavelengths waves weak interaction