Phase changes are due to potential energy changes. Internal energy always flows from an object at higher temperature to one of lower temperature. Nuclear physics Alpha particles are the same as helium nuclei and have the symbol . Only charged particles can be accelerated in a particle accelerator such as a cyclotron or Van Der Graaf generator. A loss of a beta particle results in an increase in atomic number .
All nuclei weigh less than their parts.
This mass defect is converted into binding energy. Geiger counters, photographic plates, cloud and bubble chambers are all used to detect or observe radiation. Rutherford discovered the positive nucleus using his famous gold-foil experiment. Fusion requires that hydrogen be combined to make helium. Fission requires that a neutron causes uranium to be split into middle size atoms and produce extra neutrons.