Applied Nuclear Physics
MIT OpenCourseWare's engineering-focused introduction to nuclear physics covers the basic properties of the nucleus and nuclear radiations, then works through the quantum mechanics behind them. Students calculate the deuteron bound-state wave function and energy, work out neutron-proton scattering cross-sections, and derive transition probabilities per unit time and barrier transmission probabilities. The course also covers binding energy and nuclear stability, how charged particles, neutrons, and gamma rays interact with matter, radioactive decay, and the energetics and cross-section behavior of nuclear reactions. Materials include lecture notes and problem sets from MIT's Nuclear Science and Engineering department, freely available with no enrollment required, following the OCW model of self-paced study without a certificate. It suits engineering students who already have a physics and quantum mechanics background and want the applied nuclear calculations rather than a conceptual survey.