Lawrence Weinstein
Author
Publisher
Lexigraphic Publishing
Pub. Date
2020
Edition
Unabridged
Language
English
Description
Why settle for a normal book on grammar when you could learn new things about it and become your own best self at the same time?
If you're looking for a traditional manual of rules, this much-acclaimed, groundbreaking book by a cofounder of Harvard University's Writing Center may not be the one for you. Grammar is about much more than rules: it's about choices, too—since a thought can always be expressed correctly in multiple ways.
In Grammar
...Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (31 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Study the fusion reactions that take place inside the Sun. First, consider the formidable barrier that hydrogen nuclei must overcome to fuse into helium. Then, see how the mass and temperature of a star govern the types of reactions it can support. One product of stellar reactions is neutrinos, ghostly particles that pass through the Earth (and us) in colossal numbers.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (29 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Survey the sources of radiation in the world around us, bombarding us from the sky (cosmic rays), found in the ground (uranium and other naturally occurring radioactive elements), zapping us in medical procedures, and found in consumer goods. Look at some long-discontinued radiating products such as shoe fluoroscopy and Radithor, an ill-advised radium-laced health tonic.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (28 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
The holy grail of nuclear power is fusion, which has been tantalizingly out of reach for decades. Learn why fusion power is so desirable and so difficult to achieve. Study the different strategies for attaining a contained, self-sustaining thermonuclear reaction, focusing on the tokamak, which confines a high-temperature plasma in a powerful toroidal magnetic field.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (29 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Explore the current state of fission power, now in its third generation since the dawn of the nuclear age, with a fourth generation in the works. Today's nuclear plants are designed to produce power more cheaply, more safely, with less waste, and less risk of proliferation than earlier designs. Survey the latest technology, from advanced light water reactors to molten salt and thorium reactors.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (32 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Learn the fundamentals of nuclear reactor design, which has the task of sustaining nuclear reactions at a controlled rate in order to boil water, produce steam, and drive a generator. Explore why a nuclear reactor can't explode like a bomb, and consider pluses and minuses of the most common reactor designs in use.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (31 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Continue your tour of Jefferson Lab by learning how scientists design an experiment, get it approved, run it, and then analyze the results. Discover why interpreting the outcome of nuclear collisions is like reconstructing car crashes. One tool relies on the shock wave produced by particles moving faster than light, which is possible in mediums other than a vacuum.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (33 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Finish the course by surveying the many uses of radiation on Earth and beyond. Passive detectors identify radioactive contamination and clandestine nuclear bomb tests. Cosmic rays can be used to "X-ray" ancient buildings and learn the secrets of their construction. And, see why some scientists speculate that humans thrive on Earth thanks to an ancient bath of radiation from a supernova explosion.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (35 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia, where Professor Weinstein and his colleagues use high-energy electron beams to probe the structure of the nucleus. Dr. Weinstein also explains other types of particle accelerators and their purposes, including the Large Hadron Collider in Europe.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (32 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
See how the strong and electromagnetic forces shape the nuclei of all atoms. Focus on the curve of binding energy, which explains why heavy nuclei are prone to fission, releasing energy in the process, while light nuclei release energy by fusing. Visit some classroom lab equipment to explore the principles that govern particle accelerators, which are used to probe the structure of nuclear matter.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (27 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Often called "atomic" bombs, the fission weapons first exploded in 1945 are in fact nuclear bombs - as are the fusion-boosted "H-bombs" developed a few years later. Study how they work, the difficulty of producing their reactive material, and techniques for enhancing their yield and miniaturizing warheads. Understand why the search for peaceful applications of nuclear weapons proved fruitless.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (30 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
The ability of radiation to penetrate the body and chart density and metabolic activity has led to a wide range of tools for medical imaging, including mammograms, PET scans, CT scans, bone-density tests, MRI, and other technologies. Learn how these tools work; what they reveal; and when, if ever, the doses of radiation might pose a significant risk.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (729 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Taught by Professor Lawrence Weinstein of Old Dominion University, this course explains the science, history, hazards, applications, and latest advances in nuclear physics. You learn the principles of radioactivity, how nuclear bombs and reactors work, the uses of radiation for cancer treatment and medical imaging, what makes some forms of radiation dangerous, plus you tour a linear accelerator.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (28 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
High-energy radiation has been used against cancer tumors since the discovery of X-rays in 1895. Discover the powerful arsenal of radiation sources and procedures that radiation oncologists use today. Visit the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute to look at a technique that targets cancer cells with remarkable precision, while sparing the surrounding tissues.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (33 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Now turn to unstable nuclei and the process of radioactive decay. Trace three types of decay - alpha, beta, and gamma - studying the particles involved, their charge (or lack thereof) and energy ranges. Measure radioactivity with a Geiger counter, and consider what it would take to shield against each type of radiation.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (32 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Focus on specific experiments at Jefferson Lab's largest research hall, where mammoth machines smash electrons into nuclei and measure the scattered electrons and other particles. The goal is to understand the quantum orbits in nuclear shells. Professor Weinstein shows how nuclear physicists think in designing experiments to peel away the layers of the nuclear onion.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (29 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Radiation terrifies many of us, but how scared should we be? Probe the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, focusing on what high-energy emissions do to DNA. Consider a host of radiation sources - from the innocuous, such as cell phones and power lines, to nuclear explosions and dirty bombs. Finally, learn what to do if you are ever exposed to nuclear fallout.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (33 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
Take a whirlwind tour of nuclear physics, getting a glimpse of the rich array of topics and concepts you will cover in this course. Professor Weinstein explains the constituents of the nucleus; what holds the nucleus together, its role in determining atomic identity; and the nature of isotopes. He introduces two key tools: the periodic table of elements and the table of nuclides.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (29 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
High school chemistry introduces students to the atomic shell model, which describes the distribution of electrons around the nucleus. In this lecture, learn the analogous nuclear shell model and the magic numbers that constitute full shells of protons and neutrons within the nucleus. Also, discover how an entire nucleus can ring like a bell or spin like a top.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Physical Desc
1 online resource (streaming video file) (28 minutes): digital, .flv file, sound
Language
English
Description
The discovery of the neutron in 1932 led to the insight that neutrons can incite certain heavy elements to fission (break apart), releasing more neutrons and a prodigious amount of energy. In this lecture, lay the groundwork for understanding nuclear weapons and nuclear power by investigating nuclei that are prone to fission, how to initiate fission, and the "daughter nuclei" that result.