Estimating the size of a nucleus using electrostatic repulsion can be traced back to the invention of an ultra-sensitive apparatus, which measured forces in terms of the twisting of a fine wire, dating from the 18th Century. This device, known as a torsion balance, is often attributed to the French engineer and physicist Charles Augustin … Continue reading Coulomb’s Law and Nuclear Radii
Know your calculator!
When answering examination questions, it is important that your excellent knowledge of physics isn’t undermined by your calculator behaving in an unexpected way. You MUST be able to trust the answer given. But the situation is potentially complicated, not only because calculators don’t all behave the same way but also because they may not even … Continue reading Know your calculator!
Electric Field & Electric Potential
It is tempting to regard the equations for electric fields and electric potentials as being separate things but they are so closely related that they are best viewed as different sides of the same coin. This is because electric field strength is the same as potential gradient. Or to put it another way, the electric … Continue reading Electric Field & Electric Potential
