The Sun – a thermonuclear reactor

• Resources Structure
• A level
• Physics
• XXI. Nuclear physics
• 109. Nuclear fusion

• Exam Specifications
• A Level
• AQA GCE AS/A Physics A (5451/6451)
• A2 Modules 5-9 (All Options) Common Component Nuclear Instability
• 1. Nuclear Instability
• Variation of N with Z for stable and unstable nuclei
• Possible modes of decay of unstable nuclei
• Existence of nuclear excited states
• Probing matter
• Nuclear radius
• AQA GCE AS/A Physics B (5456/6456)
• II. AS Module 2 Waves and Nuclear Physics
• 4. Radioactivity
• Background radiation
• Spontaneous nuclear changes: the nature of alpha, beta and gamma emissions
• Ionising nature of charged particles and gamma rays
• Relative penetrating powers of alpha, beta and gamma radiations
• The random nature of the decay. Exponential decay as a process with constant half-life
• Understanding of nuclear nomenclature, Z and A and terms nuclide and isotope
• V. A2 Module 5 Fields and their Applications
• 3. Nuclear Energy
• E = mc2 applied to nuclear processes
• Calculation of the binding energy of a nucleus
• Description of the processes of fission and fusion
• 4. Particle Accelerators and Detectors
• Particle accelerators and their uses
• Use of colliding beams and fixed targets in experimental physics to discover new particles
• Particle detection
• Quantitative treatment of radioactive decay
• 1. Electric and Gravitational Fields
• The strong nuclear force

pressure, temperature, electron, nucleus, sun, radiation, gamma, reactor, photons, deuterium, thermonuclear, positron, the sun a thermonuclear reactor