Chapter 7:

NUCLEAR
PHYSICS
 SCOPE OF STUDY
SCOPE OF STUDY
11 main sub topics students should learn and understand in this
chapter are :

Structure and Properties of the Nucleus

Discovery of Neutrons

The Nuclear Forces

Atomic Number and Mass Number

Atomic Mass Unit

SCOPE OF STUDY
SCOPE OF STUDY
Mass Defect

Binding Energy per Nucleon

Mass-Energy Equation

Isotopes of an Element

Mass Spectrometer

Detection of Presence of Isotopes

 STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE &&
PROPERTIES
PROPERTIES OF
OF
NUCLEUS
NUCLEUS
Nucleus consists of protons and neutrons.

A proton is the nucleus of the simplest atom hydrogen.

Proton has positive charge.

Neutron carries no electric charge and has mass slightly larger than a proton.

The number of neutrons in the nucleus is N.

STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE &&
PROPERTIES
PROPERTIES OF
OF
NUCLEUS
NUCLEUS
STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE &&
PROPERTIES
PROPERTIES OF
OF
NUCLEUS
NUCLEUS
 STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE &&
PROPERTIES
PROPERTIES OF
OF
NUCLEUS
NUCLEUS
Neutrons and protons are collectively called nucleons.

Although hydrogen nucleus consists of a single proton alone, the nuclei of all

other elements consist of both neutrons and protons.

Nuclei is a plural of nucleus.

The different nuclei are often referred to as nuclides.

The radius, r of nucleus depends on atomic mass number, A

(
r ≈ 1.2 ×10 −15
)
mA 13
DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY OF
OF
NEUTRONS
NEUTRONS

James
James Chadwick
Chadwick (1891-1974)
(1891-1974)
 DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY OF
OF
NEUTRONS
NEUTRONS
In 1932, Chadwick proved the existence of neutrons - elementary particles

devoid of any electrical charge.

In contrast with the helium nuclei (alpha rays) which are charged, and therefore

repelled by the considerable electrical forces present in the nuclei of heavy atoms,

this new tool in atomic disintegration need not overcome any electric barrier and is

capable of penetrating and splitting the nuclei of even the heaviest elements.
DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY OF OF
NEUTRONS
NEUTRONS
EXPERIMENT OF NEUTRON
 DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY OF
OF
NEUTRONS
NEUTRONS
Chadwick smashed alpha particles into beryllium, a rare metallic element,

and allowed the radiation that was released to hit another target: paraffin

wax. When the beryllium radiation hit hydrogen atoms in the wax, the atoms

were sent into a detecting chamber. In physics it is known that only a particle

having almost the same mass as a hydrogen atom could effect hydrogen in

that manner. The experiment results showed a collision with beryllium atoms

would release massive neutral particles, which Chadwick named neutrons.

 NUCLEAR FORCES
NUCLEAR FORCES
Two types : Strong nuclear forces and weak nuclear forces.

Strong nuclear force is an attractive force that acts between all nucleons

(protons and neutrons alike).

Protons attract each other via strong nuclear force at the same time they repel

each other via electric force.

Strong nuclear force > electric force.

Neutrons (electrically neutral) only attract other neutron or protons via strong

nuclear force.
 NUCLEAR FORCES
NUCLEAR FORCES
Strong nuclear force is a short-range force. It acts only over a very short

distance.

It is very strong between 2 nucleons if they are < 10 -15 m apart.

It is 0 if they are separated by a distance > 10 -15 m apart.

Electric and gravitational forces are long-range forces.

If the nuclide contains too fewer or too many neutrons relative to the number of

protons, the binding of nucleons reduce (nuclide unstable).

 NUCLEAR FORCES
NUCLEAR FORCES
Nuclei stable – have the same number of protons as neutrons (N=Z) up to about

A = 30.

Beyond this, stable nuclei contain more neutrons and protons.

As Z increase, electric repulsion increase, greater number of neutrons require to

maintain stability.

For very large Z, no number of neutrons can overcome the greatly increased

electric repulsion. (Above Z = 82, no completely stable nuclide).

Weak nuclear force – second type of nuclear force that is much weaker than

strong nuclear force.

NUCLEAR FORCES
NUCLEAR FORCES
ATOMIC NUMBER, Z
ATOMIC NUMBER, Z
DEFINITION
DEFINITION

Number of protons in the nucleus

To establish the chemical identity of the atom.

Each atomic number corresponds to a different chemical element.

It symbols by Z.
MASS NUMBER, A
MASS NUMBER, A
DEFINITION
DEFINITION

Total number of protons and neutrons

(nucleons) in the nucleus

Neutron number : N = A - Z
 MASS NUMBER, A
MASS NUMBER, A
It symbols by A.

A and Z sufficient to specify a nuclide.

Nuclide are symbolized by symbol :

X is the chemical symbol for the element.

It contains the same information of Z but in the more easily in the

recognizable form.
ATOMIC MASS UNIT
ATOMIC MASS UNIT
It is symbolized by amu or u.

It is a unit to specify the nuclear masses because the very small size of protons it

is not convenient to express the mass of nuclei and atomic particles in the

conventional unit of kilograms.

Masses of atoms are measured with reference to the carbon-12 atom, which is

assigned a mass of exactly 12 u.

ATOMIC MASS UNIT
ATOMIC MASS UNIT
The relationship between the atomic mass unit and kilogram is :

where c : speed of light = 3.0 x 108 m/s

ATOMIC MASS UNIT
ATOMIC MASS UNIT
MASS DEFECT, ∆m
MASS DEFECT, ∆m
DEFINITION
DEFINITION

The
Theamount
amountby
bywhich
whichthe
thesum
sumof
ofthe
theindividual
individualmasses
masses

of
ofthe
theprotons
protonsand
andneutrons
neutronsexceeds
exceedsthe
themass
massof
ofintact
intact

nucleus
nucleus

It is also known as the difference in mass of the nucleus.

BINDING
BINDING ENERGY
ENERGY PER
PER
NUCLEON
NUCLEON
BINDING ENERGY

The
Theenergy
energyneeded
neededto
tobreak
breakthe
thenucleus
nucleusinto
intoits
its

constituent
constituentprotons
protonsand
andneutrons
neutrons((nucleons).
nucleons).
BINDING
BINDING ENERGY
ENERGY PER
PER
NUCLEON
NUCLEON
Because of the strong nuclear force, the nucleons in a stable nucleus are held

tightly together.

Thus, energy is required to separate a stable nucleus into its constituent

nucleons.

The more stable the nucleus is, the greater is the amount of energy needed to

break it apart.

Each of the separated nucleons is at rest and out of range of the forces of the

other nucleons.
BINDING
BINDING ENERGY
ENERGY PER
PER
NUCLEON
NUCLEON

Binding energy = ( Mass defect ) c 2 = ( ∆m ) c 2

BINDING
BINDING ENERGY
ENERGY PER
PER
NUCLEON
NUCLEON
BINDING ENERGY PER NUCLEON

The
Thetotal
totalbinding
bindingenergy
energyof
ofaanucleus
nucleusdivided
dividedby
by

mass
massnumber,
number, AA
BINDING
BINDING ENERGY
ENERGY PER
PER
NUCLEON
NUCLEON
BINDING
BINDING ENERGY
ENERGY PER
PER
NUCLEON
NUCLEON
Example: Binding energy for iron.

Calculate the total binding energy and the binding energy per nucleon for

, the most common stable isotope of iron.

Solution:

Calculate the mass of the iron nucleus, the mass of 26 protons, and the

mass of 30 neutrons. The total binding energy is the difference, 492

MeV, and the binding energy per nucleon is 8.79 MeV.

 MASS-ENERGY
MASS-ENERGY
EQUATION
EQUATION
The energy change in a nuclear reaction is considerably greater than that of a

normal chemical reaction.

This change can be calculated using Einstein's equation:

ΔE
ΔE==Δmc
Δmc22

where ΔE is the change in energy,

Δm is the change in mass,

c is the speed of light (3.00 x 108 m/s).

 ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES OF OF
ELEMENT
ELEMENT
DEFINITION
DEFINITION

Nuclei that contain the same number of protons but

different numbers of neutrons

ISOTOPES OF
ISOTOPES OF
ELEMENT
ELEMENT
 ISOTOPES OF
ISOTOPES OF
ELEMENT
ELEMENT
Every nuclide is an isotope of some other nuclide.

Most elements have several isotopes.

In most cases some of the isotopes of a given element are stable (not

radioactive), and some are radioactive.

For example, iodine has 23 known isotopes with mass numbers ranging from

117 to 139.

Two of these, I-127 and I-131, are shown below.

ISOTOPES OF
ISOTOPES OF
ELEMENT
ELEMENT
 ISOTOPES OF
ISOTOPES OF
ELEMENT
ELEMENT
The relationship between the two nuclides is that they are isotopes.

I-131 is an isotope of I-127, and I-127 is also an isotope of I-131.

For most elements the most common or most abundant form is the stable

isotope.

The radioactive forms are therefore isotopes of the more common forms,

explaining the strong association isotopes have developed with radioactivity.

 MASS
MASS
SPECTROMETER
SPECTROMETER
 MASS
MASS
SPECTROMETER
SPECTROMETER
DEFINITION
DEFINITION

An
An instrument
instrument which
which can
can measure
measure the
the masses
masses and
and

relative
relative concentrations
concentrations of
of atoms
atoms and
and molecules.
molecules. ItIt

makes
makes use
use of
of the
the basic
basic magnetic
magnetic force
forceon
on aa moving
moving

charged
chargedparticle.
particle.
 MASS
MASS
SPECTROMETER
SPECTROMETER
 DETECTION
DETECTION OF OF
PRESENCE
PRESENCE OF OF
ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
EXAMPLE

Two
Two radioactive
radioactive isotopes
isotopes of
of sodium—sodium-22
sodium—sodium-22 and
and sodium-24—are
sodium-24—are used
used

inin medicine
medicine and
and other
other applications.
applications. They
They can
can be
be used
used as
as tracers
tracers toto follow
follow

sodium
sodiumininaaperson's
person'sbody.
body.AAtracer
tracerisisaaradioactive
radioactiveisotope
isotopewhose
whosepresence
presence

ininaasystem
systemcan
caneasily
easilybe
bedetected.
detected.The
Theisotope
isotopeisisinjected
injectedinto
intothe
thesystem
systematat

some
somepoint.
point.Inside
Insidethe
thesystem,
system,the
theisotope
isotopegives
givesoff
offradiation.
radiation.That
Thatradiation
radiation

can
can be
be followed
followed by
by means
means of
of detectors
detectors placed
placed around
around the
the system.
system.
 DETECTION
DETECTION OFOF
PRESENCE
PRESENCE OF
OF
Sodium-24
Sodium-24also
ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
alsohas
hasnon-medical
non-medicalapplications.
applications.For
Forexample,
example,ititisisused
usedtototest
test

for
for leaks
leaksininoil
oilpipe
pipelines.
lines.These
Thesepipe
pipelines
linesare
areusually
usuallyburied
buriedunderground.
underground.

ItIt may
may be
be difficult
difficult toto tell
tell when
when aa pipe
pipe begins
begins toto leak.
leak. One
One way
way toto locate
locate aa

leak
leakisistotoadd
addsome
somesodium-24
sodium-24totothe
theoil.
oil.IfIfoil
oilleaks
leaksout
outof
ofthe
thepipe,
pipe,so
sodoes
does

the
the sodium-24.
sodium-24. The
The leaking
leaking oil
oil may
may not
not be
be visible,
visible, but
but the
the leaking
leaking sodium-
sodium-

24
24isiseasily
easilydetected.
detected.ItItisislocated
locatedby
byinstruments
instrumentsthat
thatare
aredesigned
designedtotodetect
detect

radiation.
radiation.
 ~~ THE END ~~

“ Write it on ur heart that every

day is the best day in the year”
~Ralph Wardo

Emerson~