PHYS3C24 – Solutions Paper 5

S1. For the 37Li nucleus, Z = 3 and N = 4 . Hence the configuration is

protons: (1s1/ 2) 2(1p3/ 2)1 ; neutrons: (1s1/ 2) 2(1p3/ 2) 2

By the pairing hypothesis, the two neutrons in the 1p3/2 sub-shell will have a total
orbital angular momentum and spin L = S = 0 and hence J = 0 . Therefore they will not
contribute to the overall nuclear spin, parity or magnetic moment. These will be
determined by the quantum numbers of the unpaired proton in the 1p3/2 subshell. This
has J = 3 2 and l = 1 , hence for the spin-parity we have J P = 3 2− . The magnetic
moment is given by (see formulas derived in the lectures)

µ = j g proton = j + 2.3 (since j = l + 1 2) = 1.5 + 2.3 = 3.8 nuclear magnetons

If only protons are excited, the two most likely excited states are:

protons: (1s1/ 2) 2(1p1/2 )1 ; neutrons: (1s1/2 )2 (1p3/2 )2

which corresponds to exciting a proton from the p3/ 2 subshell to the p1/2 subshell, and

protons: (1s1/ 2) −1(1p3/2 )2 ; neutrons: (1s1/ 2)2 (1p3/ 2) 2

which corresponds to exciting a proton from the s1/ 2 subshell to the p3/ 2 subshell.

S2. Two possible examples: at magic numbers in Z or N, nuclei have more

isotopes and greater stability.

The notation is nl , where n is the radial node quantum number and l is the orbital
angular momentum quantum number.

The occupancy of each level is 2(2l + 1) , so that

1s l = 0 ⇒ 2
1p l = 1 ⇒ 6
2s l = 0 ⇒ 2
1d l = 2 ⇒ 10
2p l = 1 ⇒ 6
1f l = 3 ⇒ 14

The magic numbers would therefore be 2, 8, 20, 40, …The first three are correct, but the
last one is wrong. (It should be 28.) To obtain the correct magic numbers, a spin-orbit
interaction must be added to the central potential. This breaks the degeneracy and levels
are labelled by J.

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S3. To balance the number of protons and neutrons, the fission reaction must be

92 U →37 Rb+ 55 Cs +4 0 n
1
n+ 235
92 140 1
0

i.e. four neutrons are produced. To calculate the energy released, we need to calculate
the change ∆M in the masses of the initial and final nuclei. In doing this we note that
the mass terms in the SEMF cancel out and so we only need consider the correction
terms in the SEMF, i.e. the energy released is due to the differences in binding energies
of the various nuclei.

We have
 (Z − N) 2   Z2 
∆(A) = 3 ; ∆(A ) = −9.26 ; ∆   = 0.28 ; ∆  A1/3  = 485.75
2/ 3

 4A   

The contribution from the pairing term is negligible (about 1 MeV). Thus, using the
numerical values for the coefficients in the SEMF as given in the lectures, the energy
released is

−(3 x15.67) − (17.23x9.26) + (0.714 x485.75) + (93.15x0.28) = 166.35MeV

In using this reaction to power the nuclear reactor, we have

Power = (number of fissions per sec) x (energy per fission)

i.e.
P = nE F

Using the conversion 1MeV = 1.6x10 −3 J , we have 100MW = 6.25x10 20 MeVs−1 . Since
one neutron escapes per fission and contributes to the flux,

Flux = number of neutrons per sec per unit area

= number of fissions per sec per unit area
i.e.
n P 6.25 x1020 MeVs −1 17 −1 −2
F= = = 2 = 2.99x10 s m
4πr 2
4πr E F (166.35MeV) x(12.57m )
2

The rate of interactions is given by

Rate = (cross - section)x(flux) x(number of target particles)

We will calculate each of the terms in turn. The number of target particles is given by
−1
nT = n xN 0 , where N 0 = 6 x10 mol is Avogadro’s number and n is found from the
23

ideal gas law to be n = PV RT , where R is the ideal gas constant. Using T = 298 ,
P = 1x10 5 Pa and R = 8.31Pam 3 mol−1 K−1 , gives n = 52.5mol and hence
nT = 3.2x10 25 . The cross-section (in m ) is 10 −31 m2 and from the previous part of the
2

question, the flux is 2.99 x1017 s−1m−2 . Finally, the rate is 9.6 x1011 s−1 .

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S4. Consider fissions occurring sequentially separated by a small time interval δ t .
The instantaneous power is the sum of the power released from all the fissions up to
that time. If E F is the energy released in each fission, then over the lifetime of the
reactor, i.e. up to time T, the power is given by P0 = nE F T , where n is the total
number of fissions and δ t = E F P 0 .

The power after some time t after the reactor has been shut down is

P(t) = 2.66(T + t)−1.2 + 2.66(T + t − δt) −1.2 + 2.66(T + t − 2δt) −1.2 ..... 2.66t −1.2

In this formula, the first term is the power released from the first fission and the last
term is the power released from the last fission before the reactor was shut down. We
need now to sum this series, i.e.
n= P0T E F

∑ (T + t − nE P0 )
−1.2
P(t) = 2.66 F
n =0

To do this we convert it to an integral:

TP0 EF

∫ (T + t − nE F P0 )
−1.2
P(t) = 2.66 dn
0
setting
u = (T + t − nE F P0 )
gives
P(t) = −2.66
P0 t −1.2
∫ u
EF T + t
du = 2.66
P0
0.2E F
[t − (T + t) ]
−0.2 −0.2

i.e.
P(t) = 0.07P0 [t −0.2 − (T + t) −0.2 ]

Using the data given for the Chernobyl reactor, we get a power output of 8.03 MW
after one week and 0.86 MW after one year.