1.

0 Nuclear Stability

Nuclear Chemistry is the study of reactions involving changes in atomic nuclei. It all

started with the discovery of natural radioactivity by Antoine Becquerel and grows with the

works of Pierre and Marie Curie and many others.

All nuclei contain two kinds of fundamental particles, proton and neutron, except (�( .

Some nuclei are unstable; they emit particles and/or electromagnetic radiation

spontaneously this is known as radioactivity. All elements having an atomic number greater

than 83 are radioactive.

To understand the nuclear reactions, we need to learn how to write and balance

equations. Writing a nuclear equation differs somewhat from writing equations for chemical

reactions. In addition to writing the symbols for various chemical elements, we must also

explicitly indicate protons, neutrons, and electrons. In fact, we must show the numbers of

protons and neutrons present in every species in such an equation.

The symbols for elementary particles are as follows:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Discuss the theories of nuclear stability.

• Determine the difference between nuclear fission and fusion.

72

SCI 401 –GENERAL CHEMISTRY

The symbol 3(�0 represents an electron in or from an atomic orbital. The symbol 3(�0

represents an electron that, although physically identical to any other electron, comes from

a nucleus (in a decay process in which a neutron is converted to a proton and an electron)

and not from an atomic orbital. The positron has the same mass as the electron, but bears a

+1 charge. The α particle has two protons and two neutrons, so its atomic number is 2 and

its mass number is 4.

• The total number of protons plus neutrons in the products and in the reactants

must be the same (conservation of mass number).

• The total number of nuclear charges in the products and in the reactants must

be the same (conservation of atomic number).

If we know the atomic numbers and mass numbers of all the species but one in a

nuclear equation, we can identify the unknown species by applying these rules.

Example 1

Balance this nuclear equations (that is, identify the product X):

8$�� !(! → 8!�� !08 + �

Strategy In balancing nuclear equations, note that the sum of atomic

numbers and that of mass numbers must match on both sides

of the equation.

Solution

a) The mass number and atomic number are 212 and 84, respectively,

on the left-hand side and 208 and 82, respectively, on the right-hand

side. Thus, X must have a mass number of 4 and an atomic number

of 2, which means that it is an a particle. The balanced equation is

8$�� !(! → 8!�� !08 + !�$

Practice Exercise 1

##�� (+4 → #5�� + � (+4

73
MACALALAD – GAYETA - BASILAN | BATSTATEU

The nucleus occupies a very small portion of the total volume of an atom, but it

contains most of the atom’s mass because both the protons and the neutrons reside there. In

studying the stability of the atomic nucleus, it is helpful to know something about its density,

because it tells us how tightly the particles are packed together.

The enormously high density of the nucleus prompts us to wonder what holds the

particles together so tightly. From Coulomb’s law we know that like charges repel and unlike

charges attract one another. We would thus expect the protons to repel one another strongly,

particularly when we consider how close they must be to each other. This indeed is so.

However, in addition to the repulsion, there are also short-range attractions between proton

and proton, proton and neutron, and neutron and neutron. The stability of any nucleus is

determined by the difference between coulombic repulsion and the short-range attraction.

If repulsion outweighs attraction, the nucleus disintegrates, emitting particles and/or

radiation. If attractive forces prevail, the nucleus is stable. The principal factor that

determines whether a nucleus is stable is the neutron-to proton ratio (n/p). For stable atoms

of elements having low atomic number, the n/p value is close to 1. As the atomic number

increases, the neutron-to-proton ratios of the stable nuclei become greater than 1. This

deviation at higher atomic numbers arises because a larger number of neutrons is needed to

counteract the strong repulsion among the protons and stabilize the nucleus. The following

rules are useful in predicting nuclear stability:

• Nuclei that contain 2, 8, 20, 50, 82, or 126 protons or neutrons are generally

more stable than nuclei that do not possess these numbers. For example, there

are 10 stable isotopes of tin (Sn) with the atomic number 50 and only 2 stable

isotopes of antimony (Sb) with the atomic number 51. The numbers 2, 8, 20,

50, 82, and 126 are called magic numbers. The significance of these numbers

for nuclear stability is similar to the numbers of electrons associated with the
very stable noble gases (that is, 2, 10, 18, 36, 54, and 86 electrons).

• Nuclei with even numbers of both protons and neutrons are generally more

stable than those with odd numbers of these particles

• All isotopes of the elements with atomic numbers higher than 83 are

radioactive. All isotopes of technetium (Tc, Z 5 43) and promethium (Pm, Z 5

61) are radioactive.

74

SCI 401 –GENERAL CHEMISTRY

75

MACALALAD – GAYETA - BASILAN | BATSTATEU

Review the Nuclear Stability using the following sites:

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry/Map%3A_Chemistry_(Zu

mdahl_and_Decoste)/20%3A_The_Nucleus_A_Chemists_View/20.1%3A_Nuclear_Stab

ility_and_Radioactive_Decay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqrh8wbPXVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzLOT6uOfO4

https://teachchemistry.org/classroom-resources/half-life-investigation-simulation

2.0 Transmutation, Nuclear Fission and Fusion

Nuclear transmutation is the result from the bombardment of nuclei by neutrons,

protons, or other nuclei. An example of a nuclear transmutation is the conversion of

atmospheric 4�($ �� � ��� (�(

5
($ , which results when the nitrogen isotope captures a neutron

(from the sun). In some cases, heavier elements are synthesized from lighter elements. This

type of transmutation occurs naturally in outer space, but it can also be achieved artificially.

Nuclear transmutation differs from radioactive decay in that the former is brought about by

the collision of two particles.

LEARNING ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

76

SCI 401 –GENERAL CHEMISTRY

Particle accelerators made it possible to synthesize the so-called transuranium

elements, elements with atomic numbers greater than 92. Neptunium (Z 5 93) was fi rst

prepared in 1940. Since then, 23 other transuranium elements have been synthesized. All

isotopes of these elements are radioactive. A particle accelerator uses electric and magnetic

fi elds to increase the kinetic energy of charged species so that a reaction will occur.

Nuclear fission is the process in which a heavy nucleus (mass number. 200) divides

to form smaller nuclei of intermediate mass and one or more neutrons. Because the heavy

nucleus is less stable than its products, this process releases a large amount of energy. The

first nuclear fission reaction to be studied was that of uranium-235 bombarded with slow

neutrons, whose speed is comparable to that of air molecules at room temperature.

77

MACALALAD – GAYETA - BASILAN | BATSTATEU

Although many heavy nuclei can be made to undergo fission, only the fission of

naturally occurring uranium-235 and of the artificial isotope plutonium-239 has any
practical importance.

The significant feature of uranium-235 fission is not just the enormous amount of

energy released, but the fact that more neutrons are produced than are originally captured

in the process. This property makes possible a nuclear chain reaction, which is a self-

sustaining sequence of nuclear fission reactions. The neutrons generated during the initial

stages of fission can induce fission in other uranium-235 nuclei, which in turn produce more

neutrons, and so on. In less than a second, the reaction can become uncontrollable, liberating

a tremendous amount of heat to the surroundings. For a chain reaction to occur, enough

uranium-235 must be present in the sample to capture the neutrons. Otherwise, many of the

neutrons will escape from the sample and the chain reaction will not occur. In this situation

the mass of the sample is said to be subcritical.

In contrast to the nuclear fission process, nuclear fusion, the combining of small

nuclei into larger ones, is largely exempt from the waste disposal problem.

For the lightest elements, nuclear stability increases with increasing mass number.

This behavior suggests that if two light nuclei combine or fuse together to form a larger, more

stable nucleus, an appreciable amount of energy will be released in the process. This is the

basis for ongoing research into the harnessing of nuclear fusion for the production of energy.

Nuclear fusion occurs constantly in the sun. The sun is made up mostly of hydrogen and

helium. Because fusion reactions take place only at very high temperatures, they are often

called thermonuclear reactions. A major concern in choosing the proper nuclear fusion

process for energy production is the temperature necessary to carry out the process. These

78

SCI 401 –GENERAL CHEMISTRY

reactions take place at extremely high temperatures, on the order of 100 million degrees

Celsius, to overcome the repulsive forces between the nuclei. In contrast to the fission
process, nuclear fusion looks like a very promising energy source, at least “on paper.”

Although thermal pollution would be a problem, fusion has the following advantages: (1)

The fuels are cheap and almost inexhaustible and (2) the process produces little radioactive

waste. If a fusion machine were turned off, it would shut down completely and instantly,

without any danger of a meltdown.

79

MACALALAD – GAYETA - BASILAN | BATSTATEU

ASSESSMENT TASK

References:

Chang, R. and Goldsby, K. A. (2017). Chemistry, (12th International Edition), New York:

McGraw-Hill.

Brown, L., Brown, L. S., & Holme, T. (2011). Chemistry for engineering students. Nelson

Education.

Silberberg, M. (2012). Principles of general chemistry. McGraw-Hill Education.