THE BETHE-WEIZSÄCKER FORMULA

WEIZSÄCKER, CARL FRIEDRICH VON.

Zur Theorie der Kernmassen.

Berlin, Springer, 1935. 8vo. Bound in contemporary half cloth with gilt lettering, In "Zeitschrift für Physik", Band 96, 1935. Entire issue offered. Two stamps to title page, otherwise fine. Pp. 431-458. [Entire volume :VIII, 801 pp].

First printing of Weizsäcker's exceedingly important paper containing the first appearance of Bethe-Weizsäcker formula, or Semi-Empirical Mass Formula (SEMF), a theoretical formula relating the curve of nuclear binding energy, nuclear masses, and certain other nuclear properties.

In nuclear physics, the semi-empirical mass formula (SEMF) (sometimes also called Weizsäcker's formula, the Bethe-Weizsäcker formula, or the Bethe-Weizsäcker mass formula to distinguish it from the Bethe-Weizsäcker process) is used to approximate the mass and various other properties of an atomic nucleus. As the name suggests, it is based partly on theory and partly on empirical measurements. The theory is based on the liquid drop model proposed by George Gamow, which can account for most of the terms in the formula and gives rough estimates for the values of the coefficients. Although refinements have been made to the coefficients over the years, the structure of the formula remains the same today.

The present volume also contain conttributions by Wener Heisenberg: Die Struktur der leichten Atomkerne.

Order-nr.: 49054