PHYSICS – THE PHYSICS OF THE ATOM

The Physics of the Atom

John Dalton- Proposed the Atomic Theory

- All matter is made up of atoms. - Compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different
kinds of atoms
- Atoms are indivisible and indestructible
- A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms
- All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties

J. J Thompson- suggested that the atom looked like a miniature plum pudding with electrons embedded in the rest of the
atom

Rutherford- Showed that the atom was actually made up of two parts: the central nucleus containing protons surrounded by
electrons revolving it rather like the planets around the sun

Bohr- Explained that the electrons orbit in fixed distances (in shells) around the nucleus which prevents them from being
pulled towards the nucleus causing the atom to collapse inwards.

James Chadwick- Found out that the nucleus contained not only positive charged particles called protons but also neutral
particles which he called neutrons.

Geiger- Marsden Experiment

Atomic Structure

Atoms are composed of two parts:

1. A central nucleus containing protons and neutrons tightly packed together.

2. One or more shells or energy levels surrounding the nucleus and containing electrons revolving at high speeds.

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Protons, Neutrons and Electrons are called the sub-atomic particles

Particle Relative Mass Relative Charge Location

Protons 1 +1 In nucleus
Neutrons 1 Neutral In nucleus
Electrons 1/1840 -1 In shells

Why is an atom normally electrically neutral?

An atom is normally electrically neutral because the number of positive charges (+) is equal to the number of negative
charges (-) and this results in the atom having a net neutral charge.

Atoms can be assigned three numbers:

- Atomic Number/Proton Number (Z)- the number of protons in the nucleus of one atom of an element
- Neutron number (N)- The number of neutrons in the nucleus of one atom of an element
- Mass number/ Nucleon Number (A)- the sum total of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of one
atom of an element

N.B: The number of electrons is always equal to the number of protons

A=Z+N

Isotopes- Isotopes are two or more atoms of the same element with the same number of protons and electrons but different
number of neutrons.

Isotopes are therefore atoms of the same element with the same atomic number but different mass number.

The Shell Model of the Atom

The Rutherford-Bohr model sheds light on the arrangement of the periodic table of the elements. The orbits which electrons
were allowed to occupy around atomic nuclei, were in groups of similar radii called shells. There was a maximum number of
electrons which each shell could hold given by the formula 2n 2, where n= 1,2,3…. So the first shell (K shell), the one closest to
the nucleus fill up first … When one shell is full of electrons, the next shell begins filing. Bohr arranged the element in a table in
which atoms with only one electron in their outer shell were placed in the left hand column and those with a full outer shell
were placed in the right hand column. In between, the elements were arranged in order of increasing atomic (proton) number.

NB: Any element in the periodic table has one more proton than the element before it.

Nuclei of a given species (same number of protons) are called nuclides.

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Radioactivity

In 1896 Henri Becquerel, a French Scientist, rested some Uranium samples on a covered photographic film in a closed drawer
for four days. On developing the film, he noticed that the patches on the film had been exposed as if light had struck it. He
guessed that the uranium sample must have been living off something invisible that had passed through the opaque cover of
the film. For a while, these emissions were called “Becquerel Rays”.

In 1899, experimenting in Canada, Ernest Rutherford showed that the emissions radiated from the uranium compounds were
actually of three kinds and were given the names alpha, beta and gamma radiation. The phenomenon of giving off these
emissions is known as radioactivity.

A few months after Becquerel’s discovery, Marie Curie, a young chemistry student and her physicist husband Pierre, began
investigating uranium compounds. Marie Curie found out that:

- The amount of radiation emitted depended only on the amount of compound present. In other words,
radioactivity is determined solely by something inside the atoms.
- She discovered an element 300 times as radioactive as Uranium, Polonium [Po] (after Poland where she was born)
and an element 900 times as radioactive as Uranium, Radium [Ra].

Won Nobel Prize in 1903 (Physics) and then again in 1911 (Chemistry).

Was the first woman to win a Nobel prize, and the only person to win two Nobel Prizes for work in science.

She died 30 years after her fisrt encounter with radioactivity at the age of 66.

Definition: Radioactivity refers to the emission of particles from the nuclei of atoms as a result of nuclear instability.

The neutron/proton ratio of a nucleus determines its stability. If the n/p ratio is too large or too small, the nucleus is unstable
and it decays to form a more stable nucleus. As the nucleus splits, it also releases radiation (in the form of alpha, beta and
gamma radiation). Isotopes which do this are called radioisotopes and are said to be radioactive.

All isotopes with n/p <1.0 or >1.5 are radioactive

All isotopes larger than bismuth-209 are radioactive. They are just too large and the nuclear force can no longer hold them
together.

Nature and Range Radioactive Emissions

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Alpha (α) Particles Beta (β) Particles Gamma (γ) Radiation

These Positively charged particles
consisting of 2 protons and two neutrons
(helium nuclei). Each has a mass of
approximately 4 u and a charge of +2e.
Alpha particles are ejected from the nuclei
of decaying atoms and eventually become
helium atoms by picking up two electrons.
They are ejected at moderate speed
They have a range of a few centimeters in
air. They are stopped by a thick sheet of
paper
These are electrons that come
out of the nucleus. Each has a
charge of –e and a mass of
approximately 0.0005 u. They
are ejected at a variety of
speeds: from near zero to close
to the speed of light
High speed Beta particles may
have a range of up to a few
meters in air and several
millimeters in aluminum
This consists of high energy-units of
electromagnetic radiation called photons.
Photons have no mass or charge. They are
ejected from the nucleus or from electron
shells at the speed of light
Gamma radiation has no maximum range
in air or any other material. About 1cm of
lead absorbs half of the radiation in a
beam. (So 2 cm reduces the level to ¼). No
thickness of lead completely absorbs
completely all the photons in a beam of
gamma rays.

Appearance of Radioactive Emissions in Cloud Chamber

The low temperature within a cloud chamber enables a supersaturated alcohol vapour to form as alcohol evaporates. As
vapour particles become ionized by collision with radioactive emissions, the ions formed, called condensation nuclei attract
other vapour molecules which coalesce to form tracks of visible droplets.

Alpha Particles track- The track is bold and straight and show up in a cloud chamber as short thick lines of almost equal length.
Alpha particles easily ionize air along their tracks by pulling electrons off air molecules and lose their kinetic energy in the
process and quickly come to a stop. The tracks are bold because many tiny water droplets form around many ions produced
along the alpha particle tracks. The tracks are very straight because the alpha particle has a large mass and momentum
compared with the electrons which it pulls off gas atoms as it passes by them.

Beta Particles track- The tracks of beta particles are much fainter than those of alpha particles because of their much weaker
ionizing power. Since they have small mass, most beta particles are easily deflected by the outer electrons of atoms so tracks
tend to be irregularly shaped. Only very fast moving particles might result in fairly straight tracks.

Gamma Particle track- there is no track along the path of a gamma photon since no ions are formed along the path. In a given
beam of photons, a single photon may interact with an atom, knocking out an electron in the process. The electron comes off
with relatively slow speed and makes a shorter irregular track. Short tracks indicate where single photons have interacted with
single atoms.

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Effect of Magnetic and Electric Fields on the Motion of alpha, beta and gamma emissions

Electric Field

Diagram:

Alpha particles, being positively charged, are deflected away from the positive plate and towards the negatively charged
plates. Because they are massive compared to beta particles, the deflection is not as great as the deflection of beta particles.
Additionally, because of their mass, the electric field strength is not as great to cause great deflections.

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Beta particles, being electrons are deflected by the negative plate and attracted to the positive plate. Because they are less
massive, they are greatly deflected.

Gamma rays are not deflected by an electric field since they are uncharged.

Magnetic Field

Diagram:

Alpha and beta particles are deflected by a magnetic field but gamma rays are not. (Gamma particles have no charge and
experience no force). Remember the second finger points in the direction of the conventional current and so the direction for
beta particles would be opposite to that of the beam. The direction of the alpha particles is the same as that of the beam.

Nuclear Reactions

Alpha Particles

For elements with Z>30, more neutrons than protons are required for nuclear stability. This is because repulsive forces among
protons can act over large distances within the nucleus. The force provided by the neutrons, however, act over very short
distances only. Hence, more neutrons than protons are needed to hold the nucleus together when there are a large number of
protons present within the nucleus. A nucleus that does not have enough of these neutrons will tend to be unstable. Such a
nucleus usually achieves stability by emission of an alpha particle.

Examples:

Note: Alpha emission results in a decrease in both atomic and mass number (the atomic number decreases by 2 and mass
number by 4)

Beta Particles

For Z< 30, stable nuclei result when there are equal numbers of protons and neutrons present. Neutrons help to keep the
protons together in the nucleus. However, nuclei with more neutrons than protons (in same group Z< 30 or in large nuclei),
tend to be unstable. Such nuclei tend to achieve stability by emission of a Beta particle from a neutron and the neutron
becomes a proton and an electron. The proton remains in the nucleus and the electron is emitted.

Note: Beta emissions results in an increase of atomic number by one but the mass number remain unchanged.

Gamma Rays

Beyond Z=82, nuclei tend to be very unstable on account of the very large number of protons. The energy required to hold the
protons together in such nuclei is very large. Neutrons are no longer able to hold such nuclei in a state of stability. Apart from

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alpha emission, gamma rays may also be given off. Gamma emission usually occurs when a nucleus decays from an excited
(high energy) state to a low energy state.

Example:

The Random Nature of Radioactivity

Explain why radioactivity is considered to be a random process

Half Life

Since radioactive decay is a random process, it is impossible to predict its ‘life’, i.e. how long it would take for it to completely
decay. For example: one nucleus might decay in two minutes and a neighboring nucleus might decay two million years later.

So we cannot predict:

- Which particular atoms are going to decay

- When they are going to decay

The half-life of a radioactive of a substance is a characteristic constant.

The time taken for half the number of nuclei in a given sample of atoms to decay is called the half-life, T 1/2 of the isotope.

Half-lives vary from millionths of a second to billions of years.

A radio-isotope with a long half-life decays very slowly and one with a short half-life decays quickly.

Practical determination of Half-Life

It is difficult to tell at a particular time how many atoms in a given sample have, or have not yet decayed. Hence decay rate
(activity) rather than number of atoms is used instead to determine half-life. We use decay rates as an estimate of the number
of undecayed atoms.

Decay Rate (Activity) is the average number of disintegrations per second of a sample.

Time/mins 0 10 20 30 40
Activity/Bq 80 40 20 10 5
Plot a decay curve activity vs time

A radioactivity decay curve has the same shape for any radioactive sample. The radioactive decay curve
is also known as the exponential curve.

Useful Applications Radio-Isotopes

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Carbon-14 Dating-

Cancer Treatment- Gamma rays from radioactive cobalt-60 (5.77 years) is used in cancer treatment (radiotherapy). Cancerous
cells are destroyed by directing a controlled beam of this gamma radiation at the cells.

Heart Pacemaker- Radioactive plutonium-238 is used as an energy source for heart pacemakers. A pacemaker using regular
lithium iodide batteries requires changing every 4-5 years. Since plutonium-238 releases energy for many years (87.7 years), its
use extends the life of the pacemaker to about 12 years.

Tracers in Medical and Industrial Research

- Sodium 24 (beta emitter), iodine131 and phosphorous 32 can be used as tracers. Sodium 24 in the form of sodium chloride is
injected into the blood to serve as a radioactive tracer. Beta particles can pass through living tissue and does not incur as much
damage to living tissue as alpha particles do since beta particles produce weak ionization along their path. A Geiger Müller
(GM) tube, placed next to the skin can be used to monitor the blood flow by detecting the beta particles given off along the
circulatory path. For safety reasons sodium 24 is used because it has a short half-life (15 hours). Iodine 131(8 days) is used in
patients with defective thyroid glands and phosphorous-32 (14.29 days) can be used in plants for tracing phosphorous uptake.

- Americium-241 is used in smoke detectors of fire alarms. They are suitable because they give off alpha emissions which have
a short range. It would not be able to reach the outside of the detector and therefore would not come into contact with
people. In addition, it has a very long half-life (7370 years) which increases the reliability of the detector. The alpha particles
ionize the air inside the detector and thus maintain a tiny ionization current. As long as this current is maintained, the alarm
does not sound. When smoke particles enter the detector, they absorb some of the alpha radiation. This causes the ionization
current to reduce and sets off an electronic alarm.

Beta-emitting radio-isotopes of long half-life are used in

thickness control during manufacture of steel sheets
(Strontium-90 half-life: 28 years). If the paper sheet is too
thick, fewer beta particles reach the detector. This sends a
signal to a control device, which in turn sends a signal to
the rollers to press the steel into sheets of desired
thickness.

Gama rays are used to see through substances including metals. Thus y rays can be used to inspect baggage at airports, to
detect hairline cracks or flaws in metals such as aircraft chasis.

Generate Electricity- Fission of Uranium 238

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