12/08/10

BASICS OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS

• STRUCTURE OF NUCLEUS
o In 1911 Rutherford conducted the back scattering experiment of α-particle and
discovered the nucleus
o Structure of an atom consist of a small massive core, nucleus and surrounded by
orbital electrons

• CONSTITUENTS OF NUCLEUS
1. Protons:
a. Represented by 11H
b. They are positive charged
c. Mass = 1.007277 amu
1
d. The atomic mass unit (amu) is the mass equal to the mass of of 126C
12
-27
e. 1 amu = 1.6604*10 kg
f. Equivalent to a hydrogen atom.
2. Neutrons
a. Represented as 01n
b. No charge
c. Mass=1.008665 amu

• REPRESENTATION OF A NUCLEUS
A specific nucleus can be represented as:

The representations are:

A – Mass number
Z – Atomic number
N – Neutron number
The proton and neutron are called nucleons
A = Z+N
 12/08/10

• Based on A,Z,N; atoms are classified as:

o Isotopes - same Z, but different N.
o Isotones - same N, but different Z.
o Isobars - same A.
Atoms with different ‘Z’ forms different elements.

• SIZE OF NUCLEUS
1/3
Diameter of a nucleus = 1.41 * A Fermi

• ENERGY AND MASS

The connection between energy and matter is provided by Einstein’s theory of special relativity.
It predicts that the mass of any object increases with its speed. Let the mass when the object is at
rest be m0 , the “rest mass”; let ‘m’ be the mass when it is at speed ‘u’, and noting that the speed
of light in a vacuum is c = 3 × 108 m/s, then

m0
m=
1 − ( uc )
2

The kinetic energy imparted to a particle by the application of force according to Einstein is

E=
k ( m − m0 ) c 2

The implication of Einstein’s formula is that any object has an energy E0 = m0 c 2 when at rest (its
‘‘rest energy’’), and a total energy E = mc 2 (including kinetic energy), the difference being Ek
= E0 + Ek
the kinetic energy i.e. E