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Nuclear Physics
Properties of Nuclei
where
and A = nucleon (mass) number, with 1u =
kg
All nuclei have approximately the same density since volume of a nucleus is proportional to its
nucleon number.
Electrons, protons, and neutrons are all
In addition to the spin angular momentum, nucleons may have orbital angular momentum
associated with their motions within the nucleus.
The total angular momentum J (also the nuclear spin) of the nucleus is thus the vector sum of the
individual spin and the orbital angular momenta of all the nucleons, with the magnitude:
This shows that when the total number of nucleons A is even, j will be an integer; if odd, j is a half-
integer.
Nuclear magneton,
where A = Z + N
Neutron (N) mass 1.008665u
Electron mass 0.000548580u
Radius of nucleus =
SPhO General Notes: Nuclear Physics
Nuclear Binding Energy
Energy required to separate nucleus into its individual protons and neutrons is the binding energy
, and by the equivalence of the rest mass and energy, the total mass of the nucleons is always
greater than the mass of nucleus by an amount called the mass defect
, where:
where
= 931.5MeV/u,
atoms
to balance the Z electrons included in
(2 protons Z + 2 neutrons N). Alpha decay is possible whenever the mass of the
original neutral atom is greater than the sum of the masses of the final neutral atom and the neutral
helium-4 atom. It is a spontaneous fission of parent nucleus into 2 daughter nuclei with highly
asymmetric masses.
where Q = disintegration energy as the difference in the rest masses of initial and final states
SPhO General Notes: Nuclear Physics
The speed of the emitted alpha particle, determined from the curvature of its path in a transverse
magnetic eld, is about
Where:
For massive nuclei, most energy will be carried by the -particle:
Where
Beta Decay
3 types of beta decay:
decay can occur whenever the mass of the original neutral atom is larger than that of the final
atom, and the decay occurs when the nuclides have too large a neutron-to-proton ratio N/Z.
is an electron, and the emission of it involves the transformation of a neutron into a proton, an
electron, and an anti-neutrino. Speed of can range up to 0.9995c, thus the speed is highly
relativistic.
If the N/Z ratio is too small for stability, a positron can be emitted through
decay
SPhO General Notes: Nuclear Physics
decay can occur whenever the mass of the original neutral atom is at least 2 electron masses
larger than that of the final atom.
Electron capture takes place when a few nuclides for which
Electron capture occurs whenever the mass of the original neutral atom is larger than that of the
final atom.
For all beta-decay, A remains constant
But for
Where = number of radioactive nuclei at time t,
(Number of remaining nuclei at time t)
SPhO General Notes: Nuclear Physics
Half-Life
Time required for the number of radioactive nuclei to decrease
to one-half of the original number
Where
= lifetime
Curie (Ci) =
Becquerel (Bq) = activity
Nuclear Reactions
Classical conservation principles for charge, momentum, angular momentum, and energy are all
obeyed in all nuclear reactions. In addition, the conservation of the total number of nucleons is also
obeyed.
When 2 nuclei interact, the charge conservation requires the sum of the initial atomic numbers to
equal to the sum of the final atomic numbers. These reactions do not involve elastic collisions, and
the total initial mass does not equal to the total final mass.
Reaction Energy
Reaction energy is the difference between the masses before and after the reaction, following E=mc
2
.
Exoergic reaction: when Q is positive, the total mass decreases and the total kinetic energy increases.
Endoergic reaction: when Q is negative, the mass increases and the kinetic energy decreases.
Endoergic reactions cannot take place at all unless the initial KE in the center of mass reference
frame is at least great as|| = threshold energy.
Neutron Absorption
Heavy nuclei bombarded by neutrons can undergo a series of neutron absorptions alternating with
beta-decays, in which A increases by as much as 25. Many transuranic elements (with Z>92) are
produced this way.
When bombarded with neutrons, many stable nuclides absorb a neutron to become unstable, thus
going through
SPhO General Notes: Nuclear Physics
The total KE of the fission fragments is huge, and the binding energy per nucleon is huge during
fission as well. The increase in both KE and binding energy during fission does not violate the
Conservation of Energy since the increase in the binding energy corresponds to the decrease the rest
energy (which is converted to the KE of fission fragments).
Fission fragments always have too many neutrons, thus having a large N/Z ratio unstable
As such, they respond to the surplus of neutrons by going through a series of beta-decays until a
stable N/Z is reached, for example:
During fission, neutrons released can trigger more fissions, thus a possibility of a chain-reaction.
Nuclear Fusion
Two or more small light nuclei fuse to form a larger nucleus, releasing energy since the binding
energy per nucleon after the reaction is greater than before. The total mass of the products is less
than that of the initial particles.
For 2 nuclei to undergo fusion, they must come together within the range of the nuclear force by
overcoming the electrical repulsion between the protons. For such high energy, it is only possible at
extremely high temperatures, with the relationship:
where k is the Boltzmanns constant
Cold fusion has been studied on achieving fusion without high temperatures, including the usage of
an unusual hydrogen molecule ion