Atomic and Nuclear Physics

IBDP - Lecture Notes

Dr. Belal Al Qassem

Mashrek International School
The structure of matter
Particle physics is the branch of physics that tries to answer two basic questions:
What are the fundamental building blocks of matter?
What are the interactions between these building blocks?

The history of physics has shown that, as we probe matter at increasingly smaller scales, we
find structures within structures: molecules contain atoms; atoms are made of nuclei and
electrons; nuclei are made of nucleons (protons and neutrons); and the nucleons are made
out of quarks. Will this pattern continue forever, or are there final, elementary building
blocks?

Thomson Model
The Figure shows Thomson’s “plum pudding” or
“current bun” model of the atom, consisting of a
number of electrons buried in a cloud of positive
charge.
Although Thomson’s model was short-lived, it
was the first direct evidence that atoms have
structure and are not the most elementary
building blocks of matter as had been previously
thought.

Probing matter
In 1911, Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937) and his assistants Hans Geiger (1882–1945) and
Ernest Marsden (1889–1970) performed a series of experiments that marked the beginning
of modern particle physics, the quest to unravel the mysteries of the structure of matter. At
that time it was believed that an atom was a sphere of positive charge of diameter about
10−10 m with the electrons moving inside the sphere. This picture is the Thomson model of
the atom. This is the picture of the atom that the Rutherford experiment challenged.
In the Rutherford experiment, alpha particles were directed at a thin gold foil in an evacuated
chamber. The numbers of particles deflected by different angles were recorded.

• The great majority of the alpha particles went straight through the foil with little or
very small deviation. Most were detected at very small scattering angles, such as at
positions A, B and C in the Figure below.
• To their great surprise, Rutherford, Geiger and Marsden found that, very occasionally,
alpha particles were detected at very large scattering angles.

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Summary
• most of the alpha particles passed through the gold leaf undeflected
• some alpha particles were deflected through very wide angles
• some alpha particles rebounded in the opposite direction.
The interpretations of these results were:
• most of the atom is empty space
• the atom contains small dense regions of electric charge
• these small dense regions are positively charged.

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Nuclear structure

Nucleus

(Consists of protons
and neutron)

• The number of protons in a nucleus is denoted by Z, and is called the atomic (or
proton) number.
• The total number of nucleons (protons + neutrons) is called the mass (or nucleon)
number, and is denoted by A.
• The number of neutrons in a nucleus is denoted by N with N = A − Z.

In General, the symbol

𝐴
𝑍𝑋
stands for the nucleus of element X, whose atomic number is Z and mass number is A.

Examples
1
1𝐻 is a hydrogen nucleus with 1 proton and no neutrons
4
2𝐻𝑒 is a helium nucleus with 2 protons and 2 neutrons
40
20𝐶𝑎 is a calcium nucleus with 20 protons and 20 neutrons
56
26𝐹𝑒 is an iron nucleus with 26 protons and 30 neutrons
210
82𝑃𝑏 is a lead nucleus with 82 protons and 128 neutrons
238
92𝑈 is a uranium nucleus with 92 protons and 136 neutrons
A nucleus with a specific number of protons and neutrons is also called a nuclide.

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Isotopes
Atoms of the same element, they have same proton (atomic) number but
different mass (nucleon) number or different number of neutrons.

Nuclei that have the same number of protons but different number of neutrons are called
isotopes of each other. Isotopes therefore have the same atomic number Z but different
neutron number N and mass number A.
Examples:
Hydrogen has 3 isotopes:
1 2 3
1𝐻 1𝐻 1𝐻

Since isotopes have the same number of protons, their atoms have the same number of
electrons as well. This means that isotopes have identical chemical properties but different
physical properties. The existence of isotopes is evidence for the existence of neutrons inside
atomic nuclei.

35 37
17𝐶𝑙 17𝐶𝑙

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Radioactive decay

The stable nuclei carry low energy so they don’t emit radiations.

The unstable nuclei carry high energy so they emit radiations in order to become more stable.

The unstable nuclei emit three types of radiations:

1) Alpha particles.
2) Beta particles
3) Gamma rays.

1. Alpha particles and alpha decay

Alpha particle (-Particle) is helium nucleus or helium ion
𝟒 𝟒
𝟐𝑯𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝟐𝜶

It consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons.

• Mass of -Particle is 4 u (Relatively heavy)

• Charge of -Particle: +2e (Positively charged)
• Ionization Power: It has high ionization power.
• Range of -Particle in air: few mm to cm (Low range in air). (Why? Because it loses its
kinetic energy while ionizing the air around it).
• A sheet of paper (our skin) can stop alpha particle.
• It is affected by the electric and the magnetic fields.

Alpha Decay
𝑨
𝒁𝑿 → 𝟒𝟐𝜶 + 𝑨−𝟒
𝒁−𝟐𝒀

Examples
𝟐𝟐𝟒
𝟖𝟖𝑹𝒂 → 𝟒𝟐𝜶 + 𝟐𝟐𝟎
𝟖𝟔𝑹𝒏

𝟐𝟏𝟐
𝟖𝟒𝑷𝒐 → 𝟒𝟐𝜶 + 𝟐𝟎𝟖
𝟖𝟐𝑷𝒃

𝟐𝟑𝟖
𝟗𝟐𝑼 → 𝟒𝟐𝜶 + 𝟐𝟑𝟒
𝟗𝟎𝑻𝒉

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Beta particles and Beta decay
Beta (minus) particle (--Particle): Electron
𝟎 𝟎
−𝟏𝒆 𝒐𝒓 −𝟏𝜷

• Mass of -Particle is (9.11 x 10-31 kg). (relatively light)

• Charge of -Particle: -e (Negatively Charged).
• Ionization Power: Lower than that of .
• Range of -Particle in air: several cm to m.
• A few mm of metal (like Al sheet) can stop beta particle.
• It is affected by the electric and the magnetic fields.

Beta decay
𝑨 𝟎
𝒁𝑿 → −𝟏
𝜷 + 𝒛+𝟏𝑨𝒀

𝟏
𝟎𝒏 → 𝟏𝟏𝒑 + −𝟏𝟎𝜷

Example
𝟒𝟎 𝟎
𝟏𝟗𝑲 → −𝟏
𝒆 + 𝟒𝟎
𝟐𝟎𝑪𝒂

Gamma rays and gamma decay

0
0𝛾

• EM Waves
• No charge
• No mass
• No Ionization power.
• Range in air: unlimited
• A Block of lead can stop part of gamma rays.
• Not affected by electric or magnetic fields.

In gamma decay a nucleus emits a gamma ray, in other words a photon of high-frequency
electromagnetic radiation:
𝑨
𝒁𝑿 → 𝟎𝟎𝜸 + 𝑨𝒁𝑿
Unlike alpha and beta decay, in gamma decay the nucleus does not change identity.

Examples
𝟐𝟑𝟖
𝟗𝟐𝑼 → 𝟎𝟎𝜸 + 𝟐𝟑𝟖
𝟗𝟐𝑼

𝟔𝟎
𝟐𝟖𝑵𝒊 → 𝟎𝟎𝜸 + 𝟔𝟎
𝟐𝟖𝑵𝒊

𝟐𝟒
𝟏𝟐𝑴𝒈 → 𝟎𝟎𝜸 + 𝟐𝟒
𝟏𝟐
𝑴𝒈

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Properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiations




  

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Geiger Counter
Device used to measure the amount of radiations.

Background Radiations

(Rocks, our bodies, cosmic rays)

(e.g 20 counts)

Radioactive material

(100 counts)

 Radioactive
 material

(20)
paper

Al

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Decay series

The set of decays that takes place until a given nucleus ends up as a stable nucleus is called the decay
series of the nucleus.

The law of radioactive decay

• Radioactive decay is random and spontaneous.

• By random we mean that we cannot predict which unstable nucleus in a sample will decay or
when there will be a decay.

U U U U U U
U U U U T = 1 hour U U
U U U U U U
U U U U U U

U U U U U U U U U U U U
U U U U U U U U U U U U
U U U U U U U U U U U U
U U U U U U T = 1 hour
U U U U U U
U U U U U U

• It is spontaneous because we cannot affect the rate of decay of a given sample in any way.

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Although we cannot predict or influence when a particular nucleus will decay, we know that the
number of nuclei that will decay per second is proportional to the number of nuclei in the sample
that have not yet decayed.

The law of radioactive decay states that the rate of decay (# 0f

radiations emitted) is proportional to the number of nuclei that
have not yet decayed

N: # of nuclei in the sample at time = t.

Half-Life time: 𝑻𝟏⁄

𝟐

The half-Life time is the time needed to decay half of the nuclei in the sample.
The half-time depends on the material.

Number of nuclei remaining

N N/2 N/8 N/ 𝑁
N/4 16
2𝑚
(12. (6
(100%) 𝑻𝟏⁄ (50%) 𝑻𝟏⁄
(25%) 𝑻𝟏⁄ 5%) 𝑻𝟏⁄ %)
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐

Number of Nuclei decayed

(0%) (50%) (87.5%)

(75%)

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 9000

8000

7000
The Number of Nuclei

6000

5000
Exponential Decay
4000

3000

2000

1000

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Time / min

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 Q1)
Electromagnetic waves.

 and  will be deflected in two opposite directions

(since  is positively charged and  is negatively
charged).

The deflection of  is much greater than that of  since

 is much lighter than .
The  particles will be deflected towards the positively +++++++++
charged plate.
-
------------

It is -particle (Helium nucleus)

210 84

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Q2)
Helium Nucleus.

If the beam of particles deflected towards

the negative plate, then they are -
particles, but if they deflected towards the
positive plate then they are -particles.

-rays will not be deflected since they are uncharged.

Isotopes are atoms of the same elements, they have the same proton number but
different nucleon number.

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 Q3)

133 135
55𝐶𝑠 55𝐶𝑠

b
.
++++++++++++

----------------

Decreases.

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 Q
4)

Rocks, Cosmic rays and our bodies.

Electromagnetic waves.

The count rate decreases and falls to background count rate.

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 

 rays are uncharged.

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Q5)

90

39


90 0 90
39𝑋 → −1𝛽 + 40 𝑌

Zirconium.

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 X and Z, because they have same proton number.

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 53 131-53=78 53

131 131
53𝐼 → 54𝑋𝑒 + −10𝛽

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 After 1 week (1 half-life) → the count rate = 1600/2 = 800 counts/s

1600 800 400 200

After 3 weeks (3 half-lives)

200 counts/s





-particles

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Fundamental forces and their properties
According to the standard model of particles there are four fundamental interactions or
forces in nature. These are:
the electromagnetic interaction: this acts on any particle that has electric charge. The force
is given by Coulomb’s law. It has infinite range.
the weak nuclear interaction: it acts on protons, neutrons, electrons and neutrinos in order
to bring about beta decay. It has very short range (10−18 m).
the strong nuclear interaction: this (mainly attractive) force acts on protons and neutrons to
keep them bound to each other inside nuclei. It has short range (10−15 m).
the gravitational interaction: this is the force of attraction between masses. The small mass
of atomic particles makes this force irrelevant for atomic and nuclear physics. This force has
infinite range.

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Nuclear Reactions

1. Nuclear Fission

Nuclear Fission is the process in which a heavy nucleus splits up into

a lighter nuclei.

Possible reaction:
𝟏 𝟏𝟒𝟒
𝟎𝒏 + 𝟐𝟑𝟓
𝟗𝟐𝑼 →
𝟐𝟑𝟔
𝟗𝟐𝑼
⏟ →⏟ 𝟖𝟗 𝟏
𝟓𝟔𝑩𝒂 + 𝟑𝟔𝑲𝒓 + 𝟑 𝟎𝒏
𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒔

• The neutrons released can be used to collide with other nuclei of uranium-235,
producing more fission, energy and neutrons. The reaction is thus self-sustaining
– it is called a chain reaction.
• For the chain reaction to get going a certain minimum mass of uranium-235 must
be present, otherwise the neutrons escape without causing further reactions –
this is called the critical mass.
• The minimum mass of uranium-235 needed to make the chain reaction is called
the critical mass.

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 2. Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the joining of two light nuclei into a heavier one with the associated
production of energy.

An example of a fusion reaction is:

𝟐
𝟏𝑯 + 𝟐𝟏𝑯 → 𝟑𝟐𝑯𝒆 + 𝟏𝟎𝒏

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