The Thrill of Discovery: Nuclear Physics Research in the 21st Century

Abstract

To many people outside our field, both scientists and the general public, nuclear physics is no longer regarded as being at the forefront of scientific endeavour. Indeed it is often met with outright hostility. Other physicists will point out that the last time a Nobel Prize was awarded in the field was in 1975 1 1 to Aage Bohr and Ben Mottelson for their work on models of nuclear structure. This author would argue, however, that the 2004 prize was also for nuclear physics: to Gross, Politzer and Wilczek for “the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction”. . This paper, based on a lecture delivered during an Open Plenary Session of the recent International Nuclear Physics Conference INPC2004, which was aimed at a non-specialist audience, will seek to dispel this myth. Nuclear physics is currently enjoying a period of rapid advances. Many new discoveries have been made in the past few years, from neutron halos and nuclear molecules to a new form of radioactive decay via two protons; from hints of a new particle consisting of five quarks to new 'superheavy' elements. This talk will give a personal perspective on why, far from looking with envy at our neighbours in areas of physics that currently enjoy a higher media profile, we have more than enough to keep us busy and excited in the 21st century.