The Atomic Model

Welcome in the first course of the series, in which we explore the atomic model. My name is
Stefaan Pommé and I'll guide you through the chart of nuclides and explain where nuclear
energy comes from.

First we make a quick tour through tiny parts of matter called molecules, atoms and nuclei.
Molecules as the smallest unit of substance that exhibits its chemical properties. They
consist of atoms of the same or different elements, joined together by electrostatic forces
and by sharing electrons through covalent bonds. The atom resembles a solar system: in the
middle there is a heavy nucleus with a positive charge and orbiting around it are small
electrons with a negative charge. In a complete atom, the sum of the charges is zero.

The electrons are arranged in orbitals defined by quantum mechanics. The size of the
nucleus is in the femtometer range, which is 10,000 times smaller than the atom. The
nucleus contains positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons, which both consist of
quarks. The nucleons are held together at close range by the strong force. A nuclide is
defined by two numbers: the proton number, which tells us to which element the atom
belongs, and the mass number, which is the sum of protons and neutrons inside the nucleus.
For example, C-12 is a light nuclide consisting of 6 protons and 6 neutrons; U-235 is a heavy
nuclide with 90 protons and 145 neutrons.

For the same element, one can have atoms with a different number of neutrons. We call
them isotopes. They have a different mass, but chemically behave the same. For example,
the lightest element hydrogen has isotopes with one or two extra neutrons. They are called
deuteron and tritium. Now that we know the structure of the atom, we can explore the
chart of nuclides.

In chemistry we have the periodic table of elements, which is arranged according to

increasing nuclear charge number, and the grouping reflects the filling of the orbital electron
shells around the nucleus. In a nuclide chart, all nuclides are plotted as a function of their
number of protons and neutrons. There are roughly 3000 nuclides, but most are unstable.
Only the black dots in the chart represent stable nuclides. Stability is higher around magical
numbers corresponding to full nuclear shells.

Here we see a detail of the chart of nuclides. The isotopes of one element are arranged in
horizontal lines, the isotones are in one column and the isobars are on a diagonal. The stable
nuclides are indicated in black, and the radioactive ones have a colour code. Nuclear
scientists often navigate through the nuclide chart to see how one nuclide transforms into
another through radioactive decay. For example, beta minus decay results in conversion
corresponds to a jump from the purple square to the orange. The same is done for nuclear
reactions. This is handy for deciding how to produce a nuclide in the laboratory, but also to
understand how nuclides are transformed in reactors or stars.
By the way, do you know where atoms come from? Well, only the lightest elements were
produced after the big bang. The others have been synthesised by nuclear reactions in stars,
and it takes large stars and supernovae to produce the heaviest elements. Now you know,
we are made of star dust.

Last but not least, let's see where nuclear energy comes from. It has something to do with
Einstein's formula relating mass with energy. First we define a unit of mass for the atom,
which is one twelfth of the mass of a carbon-12 atom. This is roughly the mass of one
neutron or proton. A deuterium atom has a mass of about 2 atomic mass units, because it
has one neutron and one proton. The mass of an electron is 2000 times smaller. However,
the funny thing is that the sum of the individual weights of these three particles, is higher
than the mass of deuterium. So, where is the missing mass? Well, here it is. The missing
mass corresponds to the binding energy. The binding energy is the energy needed to pull
each particle apart from the nucleus. Einsteins formula makes the link between the binding
energy and the mass defect.

The binding energy per nucleon is not the same in each nuclide. The most tightly bound
nuclides have an intermediate size, like iron. The least tightly bound nuclides, are the light
elements like hydrogen and the very heavy ones, like uranium. That means that binding
energy can be gained through fusion of hydrogen or fission of uranium. This is fusion:
smashing deuterium and tritium atoms together, one makes a more stable helium atom and
a neutron. The sum of their mass is lower because of the higher binding energy, and the
mass defect is released as fusion energy. When a big uranium nucleus splits into two
fragments and some neutrons, a lot of mass is converted into kinetic energy. This creates
heat which can be transformed into electricity.

Thank you for watching this video. I let you reflect on it all with a picture of the remains of a
supernova, the birthplace of our heavy elements. We are all stardust. Isn't it romantic?