Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 February 2012
‘Systematics of Stable Nuclei’ is the title of the first of the four chapters in Norman Feather's book Nuclear Stability Rules (Feather 1952). In the sense used by Feather, ‘systematics’ is the search for experimental evidence of regularities in some system—specifically the Periodic System of the Elements. It is a systematic collection of facts in a way which may inspire further research, eventually leading to an all-embracing theory. At all times, and even when such a theory appears to be established, systematics can be justified for its educational value: few of those students who have enjoyed Feather's nuclear lectures would question this.