Abstract
A nucleus is characterized by its proton and neutron numbers Z and N. Their sum, the mass number A = N + Z, is also frequently used. One of the reasons for A being an important quantity is that the volume of a nucleus is, to a very good approximation, simply proportional to the number of particles. This property is associated with the saturation of nuclear forces and it permits the formulation of a macroscopic approach to the description of certain aspects of the nuclear many-body problem. This approach focuses its attention on the degrees of freedom describing the shape of the nuclear surface which, although not perfectly sharp, is known experimentally to be fairly well defined, except for small nuclei.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hasse, R.W., Myers, W.D. (1988). Definitions and Notation. In: Geometrical Relationships of Macroscopic Nuclear Physics. Springer Series in Nuclear and Particle Physics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83017-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83017-4_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-83019-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-83017-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive