Nuclear Physics

Work in progress: Resources to be added and grouped.

Topic	Resources
Properties, Effects and Uses of Radiation	Yes ( , )
Radioactive Decay and Nuclear Transformations
Nuclear forces
Fission and Fusion

In-Depth Resources: Website that cover a range of topics

A Level Activities on Nuclear Physics

STEM Learning is a UK-based comprehensive curriculum resource. It has several resources for each of 17 Physics topics including this one on Nuclear Physics. They are for the UK A level course, although the content is comparable to that of this Area of Study.

Teaching ‘What is Matter? 912 kB ppt

This is a powerpoint on i) the new concepts in this Area of Study ii) resources and iii) assessment tasks. It is prepared by Vicphysics Teachers’ Network for the 2016 Physics Teachers’ Conference.

ANSTO Resources for Education

ANSTO provides a diverse range of resources: • e-learning including i) videoconference of student designed experiments on the properties of radioactivity, but not including half life, ii) interview an expert by videoconference and iii) explore nuclear medicine by videoconference • Posters, workbooks, factsheets (All these are free downloads), online games, videos and profiles of scientists

Nuclear Resources from Perimeter Institute

The Perimeter Institute has released a package of curriculum materials called ‘A Deeper Understanding of Energy’ . It has 575 MB of material on nuclear transformations, ionising radiation, mass energy equivalence, formation of elements and dark energy. It is pitched at Years 10 to 11, is available free and includes i) a 70 page teaching program covering how to use the material, several pages of teaching strategies and learning issues, ii) 5 different activities, each with information on teaching tips, equipment, extension, misconceptions, iii) a video, iv) a student design challenge and v) assessment criteria and rubrics.

Properties, Effects and Uses: Context

Radioactivity 1.67 MB ppt

Powerpoint by Dr David Hoxley and Bob Aikenhead of Latrobe University

Tritium: The Back Story 45.6 kB doc

A 3 page Word document about the properties, risks and uses of Tritium. The document was written following a sensationalised article that appeared in the Age in February, 2017.

Radiation related youtube videos 13 kB docx A list compiled by Colin Hopkins

Articles on Radioactivity 32 kB pdf

• The Age featured an article about a geologist analysing surface rock samples on the largely ice covered island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic ocean. The purpose is to monitor the progress of climate change. The article referred to the radioactive isotopes, Beryllium 10 and Aluminium 26, which are produced in the surface of the rock, when it is exposed to by cosmic rays. The ratio of the two elements reveals how long the rocks have been exposed. The file has the link to the original article along with supporting information such as the nuclear equations that produce Be 10 and Al 26 along with their decay processes and half lives. There are also links to more comprehensive articles.
• In 2017 the Guardian reported that nuclear authorities in France and Germany have detected concentrations of Ruthenium 106 in the atmosphere. The measured concentrations were small and the energies of the emitted beta particles from Ruthenium and the daughter isotope Rhodium 106 are low, so the authorities saw no threat to human health or the environment. It is thought the radiation was released from within southern Russia sometime in September that year. The notes provide some additional background such as concentration values, half life, methods of production of Ru 106 and its uses.
• Release of Fukushima waste water into the ocean: A physics background paper. There was extensive press coverage of Japan’s decision to release waste water from the Fukushima accident into the ocean. This article on radioactive contamination of seawater by Prof Goudriaan, a Dutch physics professor, is a comprehensive and detailed exploration of the issue, yet accessible to secondary students. It is three pages in length in a two column format. There are also links to two other useful articles.

Science in Society Readers

The Science in Society readers were written to provide a range of resource materials for class use. They were written in the 1980’s in the UK and were aimed at the senior students. They are now available at the National STEM Centre. Each reader was about 60 pages long made up of articles from experts after extensive editing by the central team. Readers included tables of data, charts and graphs but relatively few pictures. There were 13 readers published, mainly in the biological fields, but several related to physics. There was also a teacher’s guide.

Science In a Social CONtext: SISCON

Published by the ASE (UK) in 1983 and now available at the national STEM Centre, SISCON was one of the early UK science courses to include topics with wide political implications. The aim of the course was to exhibit science as an endeavour rooted in the society which uses it. The project team aimed to widen the scope of science teaching by helping learners to arrive at an understanding of some of the critical interactions between science and society. Topics covered included the role of government and industry in science; commercial applications of scientific findings; the role of scientists in the production of food; the fight against disease; the development of modern weapons; the responsibility of scientists for the outcomes of their work; and the effects of science and new technologies on people’s daily lives.

SATIS: Science in Technology and Society

The UK’s National STEM Centre is now the repository for the SATIS material: All 120 units plus teacher’s guides and updates that were written in the decades following original publication.

Podcasts from BBC with Melvyn Bragg. See list of relevant episodes on aspects of Science below. They are 45 minutes.

BBC Radio 4 In our Time Melvyn Bragg Podcasts

Podcasts on Science: Scientific principles, theories, and the role of key figures in the advancement of science.

The Neutrino	Rutherford	The Curie Family	Higgs Boson	The Photon	Radiation
Nuclear Physics	Cosmic Rays	The Neutron	The Proton	Nuclear Fusion

Rutherford’s big discovery – 100 years later (a 10 min video)

In 1911 the New-Zealand-born physicist Ernest Rutherford published a paper that was to revolutionise science. To mark the centenary of these landmark experiments, the university hosted a special week-long conference in August 2011. Interviews with speakers: David Jenkins, who describes how Rutherford’s experiments overthrew the prevailing picture that atoms were solid building blocks of nature. In this discussion, Jenkins talks about how Rutherford’s work has led to some important practical applications, including big advances in the field of medicine. “Understanding the nucleus and radioactivity has led to many diagnostic techniques for medicine like positron emission tomography, or the radiotherapy cancer treatments that people receive.” John Schiffer explains how, after visiting Rutherford’s laboratory, Niels Bohr was able to develop a coherent theory of quantum mechanics based on the idea of a nuclear atom. Schiffer takes his imagination beyond fundamental physics by asking what might have happened if Rutherford had not made his discovery in 1911. He speculates that other scientists would have been unlikely to make the discovery before the onset of the First World War. Continuing this line of thought, Schiffer believes that the discovery of fission may then have been delayed until after the Second World War. “Would the first use of nuclear weapons have been in a third world war?”

Properties, Effects and Uses: Activities

FARlabs: Nuclear Experiments on line

FARLabs is short for Freely Accessible Remote Laboratories. It is a website where your students can control real experiments via the internet and collect their own data. In the first practical activity students investigate the penetrating power of four different radioactive sources. In the second activity students investigate the inverse square law as they move the detector away from the source. Once registered, teachers will be able to book times for their students. Most experiments accommodate 8 groups of 2.

Online dose calculator Prepared by the University of Sydney

The Spark Counter

Ruhmkoff Coil and ionising radiation
UK schools have an item of equipment to detect ionising radiation from radioactive sources, called a ‘spark counter’ It is not exactly a counter, it consists of ‘a fine metal gauze mounted about a millimetre away from a thin wire. A (high) voltage is applied between the two so that sparking takes place between them’. For the Vicphysics Practical Activities Workshops, the idea occurred of bringing an alpha source close to the pointed electrodes of a Ruhmkorff coil. However this did not work. Replacing one of the two pointed electrodes with the metal disc electrode made all the difference, with sparks readily jumping from the point to the disc. Many thanks to Paul Cuthbert, University High School for getting it to work.

Practical activities for Radioactivity 44.5 kB doc

Practical activities for radioactivity, student sheet and teaching notes. Geiger counter, cloud chamber, low activity sources, dice simulation of radioactive decay.

Making a Cloud Chamber using Peltier Coolers

The website shows how to construct the cloud chamber, but the components are not cheap.

Making a fish tank Cloud Chamber

A Physics Teacher Network Coordinator in Cumbria, UK has devised a clever way of allowing many students at one time to see the vapour trails in a cloud chamber. Frances Green used a small, transparent plastic fish tank, about 30 cm x 15 cm x 20 cm, inverted over a tray of dry ice. The cloud chamber can also show cosmic rays entering the chamber and instances of pair production have also been observed. The instructions as well as a video of showing her assemble the cloud chamber can be found at this link. The article has a list of useful links at the end.

Properties, Effects and Uses: Assessment

Media response assessment task on History of the Atom 34.3 kB doc

A two page article on Rutherford and also on the discovery of quarks along with three fill in pages of questions, seven in total.

Solutions to Media response assessment task on History of the Atom 24.5 kB doc

Radiation Assessment Task 10.2 kB rtf

Radioisotope Poster Presentation – involving student research and presentation.

Radiation Assessment Task 52.7 kB rtf

Radioactivity and Nuclear Energy Presentation (This is a research task using written references and the Internet. Students are to produce a newspaper report, a PowerPoint presentation or a web page. Topic cards are selected at random so that all students research a different topic. Swapping of cards is fine with me, as is negotiating another topic.)

Properties, Effects and Uses: Websites

Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Ionising Radiation in Schools

An ARPANSA pdf file of 17 pages covering modes of radiation exposure, shielding, dose limits, responsibility, general rules, X-ray generators, By-product X-radiation, general control of radioactive sources, sealed sources, unsealed sources, references and appendices.

Feynman Poetry on Atoms This short poem by Richard Feynman reads very well.

Radiation Dose Chart

A chart of the ionising radiation dose a person can absorb from various sources. The unit used is the sievert.

Information is Beautiful: A visualisation on nuclear exposure

The website is about presenting information in ways that visually conveys a message. “‘Information is Beautiful’ is dedicated to distilling the world’s data, information and knowledge into beautiful, interesting and, above all, useful visualizations, infographics and diagrams.” This one is on nuclear exposure. Select ‘Data’ and go down the list to The Radiation Dosage poster (March 2011). Click on ‘Our chart’ to display it. The cost is US$2.50.

I am radioactive: My technetium scintigraphy

A Youtube video (9:53 min) A young woman monitors her radioactivity before during and after a Technetium examination of her thyroid. She has an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid. She uses a geiger counter reading in microsieverts per hour to measure the count. She speaks with the doctor in German, but in English to the camera and in the narration. She shows the gamma ray scan of her thyroid and observes the count over the following hours. She also tests the radioactivity of her urine, as well as the sediment from its distillation. You can also check her flickr for more results. She also answers the many questions from viewers, including the difference between Tc-99m and Tc-99 and how the Tc targets a particular organ.

Ionising radiation

The Swedish company, KSU, has produced a set of seven short (1 – 2 min) videos that are available on Youtube. The narration is in bland, in a ‘Schwarzenegger -like voice’ and the animation is basic. Also, unfortunately the movement of alpha and beta particles is represented as a wave. It still may be a useful revision resource for students. The titles are: 1. What is ionising radiation?, 2. Our radiation environment, 3. How is ionising radiation measured?, 4. Harmful effects of radiation, 5. Quantities and units, 6. Decay and 7. Radiation protection.

Decay and Transformations: Context

Decay and Transformations: Activities

Workbooks, Data Sets and Remote Labs from ANSTO Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Sydney, NSW.

Calculate your own Annual Radiation Dose 14 kB pdf

A worksheet for students to determine their dose based on their exposure from cosmic radiation, their homes, food, air travel and medical treatments.

Bananas worksheet 1.6 MB ppt A powerpoint by Colin Hopkins

Bananas and radiation 156 kB docx A short prac by Colin Hopkins

Bananas worksheet 26 kB docx A short prac by Colin Hopkins

Worksheet for Radioactive Decay of Ba 137 52 kB docx

Experiment to determine the half-life of Barium 137 using a kit that can be obtained from Cider House ICT. It is a safe demonstration that involves the class. A Geiger counter is required and it is useful to have a clock with a second hand that all can see. You can usually get one student to call out the count each minute and students can be completing the columns in the table and plotting the graph during the demonstration. The kit can be purchased from Cider House ICT. The cost is approximately $400AUD (schools may wish to share the purchase). One kit will last for a great many years. Prepared by Paul Cuthbert, Kew High School

Protactinium Prac 17.4 kB doc

A prac that uses a Protactinium (Pa) source. Details on how to make a Pa source can be found in the prac book “Guide to Year 11 Physics” by Tait and Boydell. Pa has a short life so that the count rate dies down to background in about five minutes. The prac is down as a class prac with two students reading and supplying data to the rest of the class. One student counts down the clock for each 20 second interval, the other student reads the geiger counter and calls out the progressive total count.

Radioactivity – Dice Prac 29.7 kB doc

This is a prac that simulates radioactive decay using either dice or wooden blocks. It has an option to use Excel to analyse the data.

Radioactive Decay Simulation 338 kB zip

An Excel worksheet that simulates radioactive half life using random numbers, like rolling dice. In cell 2 you enter the number of sides you want on the dice (any whole number bigger than 2). The worksheet then rolls 1000 dice, counts the number of 2’s, and then deducts them from the 1000 dice. This continues for 50 rolls of the dice. Pressing shift+F9 will recalculate the worksheet. Included is a graph of Dice remaining vs roll number. If you do this for a 3, 6, 9, and 12 sided dice it shows how the half life changes with the probability of getting a 2. Alternatively since the values are in columns you can copy and paste them into a graphing program. We use Autograph. It is heaps better than Excel and you can zoom in to show the half life value in detail. You can also do a 6th order line of best fit through the data points. I will include some screenshots showing this. Contributed by Brendon Beard.

Radioactive Decay Simulator

Alistair Shaw from Aitken College has produced a radioactivity decay app. Users are able to select from three sources; Pa 234, Be 11 and C11, or enter their own half-life. Users then enter the number of atoms and choice of display either ‘atoms decayed’ or ‘atoms remaining’. The randomness of radioactive decay can be modeled in a real time graph. The simulator can also be sped up to allow atoms with a longer half-life to be analyzed quickly. There is also an online manual to explain these steps.

Real Research Data with Student Worksheets from ANSTO

ANSTO have developed some guided worksheets to help students analyse real data sets from ANSTO research. Students can graph data, make calculations, draw conclusions and answer discussion questions using provided background reading.
The worksheets and data sets examine different research topics, including: Radionuclides in medicine and radiation in the air we breathe as well as Greenhouse gas concentrations from Antarctic ice cores over 800,000 years.

Demonstration of exponential decays 25 kB pdf

Five simple demonstrations of various decay phenomena that are exponential or close to it, such as ball deflating, emptying a burette, etc.

Decay Series

An applet by Walter Fendt. It displays isotopes in an Atomic number by Mass number table. The user clicks the “next decay” to show an arrow for the next step in the decay series as well as the nuclear equation. This can continue until a stable isotope is reached. Four decay series are available.

Law of radioactive decay

An applet by Walter Fendt, it displays a rectangular arrays of red dots, which go black when they decay. When you select ‘Start’, the ‘atoms’ begin to randomly decay. Underneath the array is a tally of the number already decayed and those that have not, as well as time in fractions of the half life. There is a ‘pause’ button, but the half life cannot be changed.

Decay and Transformations Assessment

Decay and Transformations: Websites

Information on radiocarbon dating

An informational site dedicated to the process of carbon-14 dating of archaeological findings. Details the process of C14 dating, the history of C14 dating and links to further information.

Fission and Fusion: Context

BBC podcast series on ‘The Bomb’

The series delves into the wider story of the atomic bomb, beyond the film ‘Oppenheimer’.  It is told through ‘the scientists and spies who changed history’.  Season 1 focuses on Leo Szilard from when he proposed the possibility of a chain reaction to his attempts to stop the bomb being used.  Season 2 focuses on Klaus Fuchs. Each episode is about 20 mins.

Fission and Fusion: Activities

Using LEGO to teach Nuclear Physics

The Physics and Astronomy Dept at the Queen Mary University in London has produced a set of resources on radioactivity and particle physics that use LEGO blocks to convey the concepts. The resources include: • Building the Universe (14 – 18): i) A poster ‘Build your own Universe’ which uses small LEGO blocks to represent quarks, which can be combined to produce protons and neutrons, which then can be used to form Helium, then Carbon. ii) a 6 page booklet to support the poster. • Fission and Fusion (GCSE or Yr 11): A 6 page booklet showing how to use LEGO blocks to explain Fission and Fusion. • Particle Physics (A Level): A 6 page booklet using LEGO blocks for the 6 quarks to show the formation of elementary particles and their strong and weak interactions, as well a lesson plans and a powerpoint.

Fission and Fusion: Assessment

Nuclear Presentation 22 kB doc

Handout outlining an assessment task requiring students to prepare a presentation in poster or PowerPoint format on an aspect of nuclear energy.

Nuclear Presentation Assessment 26 kB doc

Assessment criteria sheet for the presentation on an aspect of nuclear energy

Fission and Fusion: Websites

Teaching Resources from CERN

Materials include presentations, recorded lectures, teaching materials, movies, animations, games, posters, photos, games and ideas for practical activities in the classroom. All this material is available for free when used for educational purposes.

Posters from Royal Holloway institute in the UK

There a few colourful posters on particle physics and other areas of physics which can be downloaded.

Educational game: Particulars

The website has a link to the game, a free demo and a description. It is a game with a combination of arcade-action and puzzle gameplay, set in the mysterious world of subatomic particles. Cost US$15.

Nuffield Foundation: Atoms and Nuclei

The Nuffield Foundation and IOP’s website on Practical Physics has an extensive range of practical activities and support documents on radioactivity.

Teaching Advanced Physics An IOP(UK) resource

The Institute of Physics (IOP) Teaching Advanced Physics (TAP) website site has an extensive range of resources across all physics. The topic ‘Atoms and Nuclei’ has a section on ‘Particles and Antiparticles’ which provides advise and resources on several aspects. There is also a link to another section ‘Quarks’ .

Prof Brian Cox: Particle Physics Lecture at CERN

A lecture on the development of science of the standard model of high energy particle physics given to some of the CERN faculty for a demonstration of how this kind of complex science should be lectured to those with any level of science/physics background from laypeople to experts who want to keep up with current discoveries outside their field.

A Crash Course in Particle Physics: Part 1 of 2.

An educational walk, through the fundamentals of Particle Physics.

A Crash Course in Particle Physics: Part 2 of 2.

An educational walk, through the fundamentals of Particle Physics.

Journey through the history of particle physics by Brian Cox

A series of 15 short videos (a few minutes each) made in 2008 with the following titles: 1) Atoms and teh Periodic Table, 2) The Discovery of the Electron, 3) The Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus, 4) The Existence of Quarks, 5) The Standard Model of Particle Physics, 6) The Nature of Forces, 7) Gravity and Electromagnetism, 8) The Unification of Electricity and Magnetism, 9) The Weak and Strong Nuclear Forces, 10) A Unified Theory of Forces, 11) The Weird Quantum World, 12) QED – The Jewel of Physics, 13) Particle Accelerators and The Higgs Boson, 14) The Biggest Particle Accelerator Ever … , 15) High Hopes for LHC

LEGO Activities in Radioactivity and Particle Physics

The Physics and Astronomy Dept at the Queen Mary University in London has produced a set of resources on radioactivity and particle physics that use LEGO blocks to convey the concepts. The resources include: a) Building the Universe (14 – 18): i) A poster ‘Build your own Universe’ which uses small LEGO blocks to represent quarks, which can be combined to produce protons and neutrons, which then can be used to form Helium, then Carbon. ii) a 6 page booklet to support the poster, b) Fission and Fusion (Yr 11): A 6 page booklet showing how to use LEGO blocks to explain Fission and Fusion and c) Particle Physics (A Level): A 6 page booklet using LEGO blocks for the 6 quarks to show the formation of elementary particles and their strong and weak interactions, as well a lesson plans and a powerpoint.

Resources on Particle Physics

The Science and Technologies Facilities Council in the UK maintains a website on many aspects of physics. Check under ‘Public Engagement’ or ‘Activities for Schools’ and ‘Resources and publications’. There are a large set of leaflets, booklets and posters that can be download. The topics covered include planetary science, space hardware, synchrotron, LHC and particle physics.
Resources include: i) A set of particle physics summary sheets: A3 and A4 sheets which provide a concise summary of important points about quarks and leptons, forces, particle accelerators, particle detectors, and particle physics and the big bang. and ii) A set of posters on the standard model of particle physics.

PhysicsWorld: Focus on Nuclear Energy

An in-depth, but accessible, coverage of some of the longer-term matters affecting the nuclear industry, including safety, reactor design, waste management and environmental concerns. Highlights in this focus issue include: i) How green is nuclear energy? assesses the industry’s environmental credentials, ii) Chernobyl’s hidden legacy: argues that scientists should re-examine Soviet-era evidence of health effects from radiation, iii) The long road to ignition – A report on the status of efforts to reach the “break-even” point of inertial confinement fusion at the US National Ignition Facility, iv) Maintaining high standards: explore the materials-science challenges of monitoring nuclear reactor components.

Small Modular Reactors: Some Resources

These are several articles about Small Modular Reactors (SMR) that give an overview of the topic:

• ANSTO: Small modular reactors can be built with Generation IV reactor designs
• PhysicsWorld: Why smaller is better when it comes to nuclear power
• ScienceDirect: Emerging small modular nuclear power reactors: A Critical Review
• Phys.Org: Assessing the viability of small modular nuclear reactors
• YouTube: Small Modular Reactors Explained – Nuclear Power’s Future?
• Green Tech Media: So, What Exactly Are Small Modular Nuclear Reactors?

Caesium 137 capsule lost in transit: Useful support material.

A Caesium 137 capsule was lost in the mining district of Western Australia in early 2025, Some on the initial reporting on the Caesium 137 capsule was inaccurate and incomplete.  This note has some of the important data and links to authoritative sources. Cs 137 decays with a half-life of 30.05 years with a 0.5120 MeV beta minus particle to metastable Barium 137 which then decays with a half-life of 153 seconds with a 0.6617 MeV gamma ray to the Barium 137 ground state.  It is this gamma ray which is the reason for the industrial and medical use of Caesium 137. The reason for the concern about the capsule is that the activity was actually 19 GBq. With the capsule being so small 8mm by 6mm, there have been many industrial accidents over the decades, some causing deaths.  In one instance a capsule was lost and ended up mixed with gravel and used to construct an apartment building. By the time the capsule was discovered, 6 residents had died. It has been estimated that spending one hour a metre from the source was equivalent to the exposure of between 10 and 17 chest X-rays.
Useful articles:

• The Guardian: Explainer article
• Wikipaedia Information on production and nuclear incidents
• Caesium 137 A deadly hazard an article prepared by Stanford University
• CDC information sheet A radioisotope brief

Release of Fukushima waste water into the ocean: A physics background paper.

There was extensive press coverage of Japan’s decision to release waste water from the Fukushima accident into the ocean.  This article on the radioactive contamination of seawater by Prof Goudriaan, a Dutch physics professor published in Europhysics News, is a comprehensive and detailed exploration of the issue, yet accessible to secondary students. It is three pages in length in a two column format. The article references this chart on human exposure to radiation. This article in The Guardian has a good coverage, as does this one in Science Mag, produced by AAAS.

Lightest Uranium isotope made. Useful data for questions.

This article in Science News describes how Uranium 214 was produced and the two decay chains it decays by.   The article and graphic includes half life values.  Uranium 216 and 218 were also produced.