Nuclear PhysicsΒΆ
There are three problems in this section, which investigate binary collisions and the associated scattering cross sections.
In the first problem, you will develop a basic simulation of binary collisions using two different models: Rutherford scattering with a Coulomb potential, and hard-sphere scattering.
In the second problem, you will investigate these models further by calculating their associated differential cross sections. You will compare these to the theoretical cross sections, and will see how the cross section is modified when looking at hard sphere collisions between charged particles. The third problem develops this latter approach, applied to the particular physical context of plasma particles being collected / scattered by a dust particle.