NUCLEAR ENERGY AND ELEMENTARY PARTICLES In this concluding chapter we discuss the two means by which energy can be derived from nuclear reactions: fission, in which a nucleus of large mass number splits into two smaller nuclei, and fusion, in which two light nuclei fuse to form o heavier nucleus. In ether case, there is @ release of large amounts of energy that con be used destructively through bombs ‘or constructively through the production of electic power. We end our study of physics by examining the known subatomic particles and the fundamental interactions that govern their behavior. We also discuss the current theory of elementary particles, which states that all matter in nature is constructed from only two families of porticles: quarks and leptons, Finally, we describe how such models help us understand the evolution of the Universe. 30.1 NUCLEAR FISSION Nuclear fiss n occurs when a heavy nucleus, stich as®°U, splits, or fissions, into action the total mass of the products is less than nucleus, two smaller nuclei, In such a the original mass of the heat ®U, by slow (low-energy) neutrons can be represented by the The fission of ® sequence of events, neu 3 BUTS xX + y+ neurons (30.1) where ®°U" isan intermediate state that lasts only for about 10 s before splitting, ino nuclei X and ¥, called fission fragments, Many combinations of X and Y isfy the requirements of conservation of energy and © um, about 90 different daughter nuclei can be formed, The process also results ige. In the fission of ura in the production of several (typically two or three) neutrons per fission event. On the average, 2.47 neutrons are released per event. A typical tion of this type is, ine 380 pa + Kr + 3h 30.1 Nuclear Fission 30.2 Nuclear Fusion 30.3 Elomentary Particles ond the Fundamental Forces 30.4 Positrons and Other Antiparticles 30.5 Class ion of Particles 30.6 Conservation Laws 30.7 The Eightfold Woy 30.8 Quorks and Color 30.9 Electroweak Theory and the Stondord Mode! 30.10 The Cosmic Connection 30.11. Problems ond Perspectives 937938 Chapter30._—_Nucleor Energy and Elementary Particles, FIGURE 30.1. Anuciarfivsion ; ‘events described by the quid he nucleus. (a) slow . sou ° in wo lighter nuclei X and Y, along e o © @ ‘The fission fragments, barium and krypton, and the released neutrons have a great deal of kinetic energy following the fission event. Notice that the sum of the mass numbers, or number of nucleons, on the left (1 + 295 = 236) is the same as the total number of nucleons on the right (41 + 92 + 8 = 236), The total number of protons (92) is also the same on both sides. The energy Qreleased through the disintegration in Equation 30.2 can be easily calculated using the data in Appen- dix B, The details of this calculation can be found in Chapter 26 (Example 26.5), swith an answer of Q = 200.422 Mev. ‘The breakup of the uranium nucleus can be compared to what happens toa drop of water when excess energy is added to it. All the atoms in the drop have energy, but not enough to break up the drop. If enough energy is added to set the drop vibrating, however, it will undergo elongation and compression until the amplitude of vibration becomes large enough to cause the drop to break apart. In the uranium nucleus a similar process occurs (Fig. 30.1), The sequence of events is as follows Sequence of evens in a nuclear fission process -> 1. The “SU nucleus captures a thermal (slow-moving) neutron, . The capture results in the formation of ®U", and the excess energy of this imucleus causes it to undergo violent oscillations. 8. The®"U" nucleus becomes highly elongated, and the force of repulsion between protons in the two halves of the dumbbell-shaped nucleus tends to inerease the distortion, 4. The muctens splits i ‘yo fragments, emitting several neutrons in the process. ‘Typically, the amount of energy released by the fission ofa single heavy radioactive atom is about one hundred million times the energy released in the combustion of fone molecule of the octane used in gasoline engines APPLYING PHYSICS 30.1 UNSTABLE PRODUCTS — Ifa heavy nucleus were to fission into only two prod- splits in a fission reaetion to avo lighter nuclei, the ‘uct nuclei, they woulld be very unstable, Why? lighter nuclei tend to have too many neutrons, The result is instability because the nuclei return to the curve in Figure 29.8 by decay processes that reduce the number of neutrons Explanation According to Figure 29.3, the ratio of the number of neutrons to the number of protons increases with Z. Asa result, when a heavy nucleus Goal Relate raw material w energy outpu Problem (a) Calculate the total energy released if 1.00 kg of ®°U undergoes fission, taking the disintegration energy per event to be Q= 208 MeV. (b) How many kilograms of ®®U would be needed to satisfy the world’s annual energy consumption (about 4 x 10" Je Strategy In part (a), use the concept of a mole and Avogadro's number to obtain the total number of nuclei. Malti plying by the energy per reaction then gives the total energy released. Part (b) requires some light algebra.301 Nuclear Fission 939 Solution (@) Calculate the total energy released from 1.00 kg. of 0, 6.02 x 10% nuclei/mol a N ( en )e.00 x 10°) 9.56 X 10 nuclel Find the total number of nuclei in 1.00 kg of Multiply A’by the energy yield per nucleus, obtain- ing the total disintegration energy: 55x 1 mc 8 2) (b) How many kilograms would provide for the world’s annual energy needs? Set the energy per kilogram, F,,. times the number of kilograms, Njq, equal to che total annual energy 4x10" consumption, Solve for Nie J (5.32 x 10" eV/kg)(1.60 X10"? eV) Remarks The calculation implicitly assumes perfect conversion to usable power, which is never the case in real systems, Enough uranium deposits are known so as to provide the world’s current energy requirements for a few hun- dred years, Breeder reactor technology can greatly extend those reserves QUESTION 30.1 Estimate the average mass of ®°U needed to provide power for one fami EXERCISE 30.1 How long can 1 kg of uranium-235 keep a 100-watt lightbulb burning if all its released energy is converted to electri- cal energy? for one year Answer ~ 30000 yr Nuclear Reactors ‘The neutrons emitted when !U undergoes fission can in turn trigger other nuclei to undergo fission, with the possibility of a chain reaction (Active Fig. 30.2). Calcu- lations show that if the chain reaction isn’t controlled, it will procced too rapially and possibly result in the sudden release of an enormous amount of energy fan explosion), even from only 1 g of ®°U. If the energy in 1 ks of °U were released, it would equal that released by the detonation of about 20 000 tons of TNT! An. uncontrolled fission reaction, of course, is the prineiple behind the first nuclear bomb, ‘A nuclear reactor is system designed to maintain what is called a self-sustained chain reaction, first achieved in 1942 by Enrico Fermi. Most reactors in operation today also use uranium as fuel, Natural uranium contains only about 0.7% of the 1 isotope, with the remaining 99.9% being the 2U isotope. This fact is impor tant to the operation of a reactor because =U almost never undergoes fission. Instead. it tends to absorb neutrons, producing neptunium and plutonium. For this reason, reactor fuels must be artificially enriched so that they contain several percent of the 2U isotope. (On average, about 2.5 neutrons are emitted in each fission event of *5U. To achieve a self-sustained chain reaction, one of these neutrons must be captured by another #°U nucleus and cause it to undergo fission, A useful parameter for describing the level of reactor operation is the reproduction constant K, defined —__—_—