CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
Nucleus- the positive core of the atom (also called nuclei)
Discovered by Rutherford and His students, Geiger and Marsden in 1911 after a series of
scattering experiments involving α-particles. He successfully established that a nucleus of an
atom can be regarded basically as appoint mass and a point charge and that most of the atomic
mass is contained in the nucleus
A nucleus consists of;
Nucleons - held together by strong nuclear force; also called the mass number (A) {A=
protons, P (+vely charged) +neutrons, N (electrically neutral)}
Atomic number (Z) - also called the charge number. It is the no. of protons in the nucleus.
Some definitions;
 Nuclide- a particular combination of protons and neutrons. (Include; isotopes, isotones
and isobars)
-Are characterized and symbolically represented as;
A
z X , where X is the chemical symbol of the element
56
e.g. 26 Fe , 126 C etc.

A nuclide can also be represented as (A, Z), A X or X - A

e.g. C(12-6), 12 C or C-12

 Isotopes – nuclei of all atoms of a particular element containing same Z but different N
and A. e.g.;
35 36 11 12
17 Cl , 17 Cl and 6 C , 6 C

 Isotones – nuclide with the same N. e.g.;

40 39
20 Ca ; 19 K

 Isobars – nuclides with the same A. e.g.;

20 20
9 F; 10 Ne
Natural abundance of nuclides
The elements found in nature often consist of a number of isotopes. The natural abundance of
isotopes of a given element can differ substantially. E.g. carbon has 4 isotopes, 116C , 126C , 136C and
14 12 13
6 C but the natural abundance of the 6 C isotope is 98.9% compared to that of 6 C at about
1.1%. Even the simplest atom, hydrogen has isotopes; 11 H - ordinary hydrogen, 12 H -deuterium,
3
1 H - tritium.

Some isotopes do not occur naturally but can be produced in the laboratory through nuclear
reactions
Atomic weight and Molecular weight

The atomic weight of an atom is defined as the mass of the neutral atom relative to the mass
of a neutral 12C atom on a scale in which the atomic weight of 12C is arbitrarily taken to be
precisely 12. In symbols, let m( A Z ) be the mas of the neutral atom denoted by A Z and m(12C)
be the mass of neutral 12C. Then the atomic weight of AZ, M(AZ), is given by
(1)

For example, for an atom that is precisely twice as heavy as 12C.Then according to (1), this atom
would have the atomic weight of 12 X 2=24
Because of the isotopic nature of most elements/atoms, atomic weight of the element is then
defined as the average atomic weight of the mixture. Thus if γi is the isotopic abundance in
atom % (a/o) of the ith isotope of atomic weight Mi. Then the atomic
weight of the element is;
(2)

The total mass of a molecule relative to the mass of a neutral 12C atom is called the molecular
weight. This is merely the sum of the atomic weights of the consituent atoms. For instance,
oxygen gas consists of the molecule O2, and its molecular weight is threfore:
2 * 15.99938=31.99876.
Example 1.
Using the data in the following table, compute the atomic weight of naturally occurring
Oxygen.
Isotope Abundance (a/o) Atomic weight
16
O 99.759 15.99492
17
O 0.037 16.99913
18
O 0.204 17.99916
Solution.
From (2) it follows that
M(O) = 0.01[γ(16O)M(16O)+ γ(17O)M(17O)+ γ(18O)M(18O)] = 15.99938.

Example 2.
Copper, as it occurs naturally, consists of two stable isotopes, 63Cu and 65Cu. What is the relative
abundance of the two forms? In your calculations, take the atomic weight of copper to be 63.55
and take the masses of the two isotopes to be 62.95u and 64.95u
The mole
The gram atomic or molecular weights
Recall, the atomic or molecular weights are unitless numbers, being ratios of the masses of
atoms or molecules. By contrast, the gram atomic weight and gram molecular weight are
defined as the amount of substance having a mass, in grams, equal to the atomic or molecular
weight of the substance. This amount of substance is also called a mole. Thus one gram atomic
weight of 12C (one mole of 12C) = 12g of this isotope, similarly, one mole of O2 gas is =31.99876
g, and so on
Since atomic weight is ratio of atomic masses and a mole is an atomic weight in grams, it
follows that the number of atoms or molecules in a mole of any substance is a constant,
independent of the nature of the substance. For instance, for a hypothetical nuclide of atomic
weight of 24.0000, it will be that the individual atoms of this substance are exactly twice as
massive as 12C. Therefore, there must be the same number of atoms in 24.0000g of this nuclide
as is in 12.0000 g of 12C. This whole idea is referred to as Avogadro’s law, and the number of
atoms or molecules in a mole is called Avogadro’s number. This number is denoted by NA =
0.6022045*1024
Example 3
Using Avogadro’s number, compute the mass of a single atom or molecule, say for 12C.
Solution
12 g of 12C (one gram mole of 12C) = 0.6022045*1024 atoms
12
Therefore m(12 C )   1.99268* 10  23 g .
0.6022045* 10 24
Charge, mass and energy
The proton charge is equal in magnitude to the electron charge, e (e =1.6021773x10-19C)
Mass spectrometers are used in the laboratory to measure atomic masses (containing nucleons +
Z electrons)
The proton mass≈1836 * electron mass. The proton mass is ≈ neutron mass

ENERGY UNITS

 The atomic mass unit-amu (u)

For atomic masses, we define the atomic mass unit, amu. The mass of one neutral atom of 12C is
defined to have 12.0 amu. This means that the mass of an atom is measured relative to the mass
of the neutral carbon-12 isotope (its nucleus +6 electrons)
Example
Using the definition for amu, show that;
1 amu =1.66*10-27 Kg
Solution.
From the preceding example,
1 atom of C-12 [m(12C)]=1.99268*10-26 Kg
And since m(12C)] is defined as = 12 amu
It follows that,

Other energy equivalent masses;

mP = 1.007276 amu (≈ 1 amu) = 1.672623*10-27 Kg
mn = 1.008665 amu (≈ 1 amu) = 1.674929*10-27 Kg
me = 0.0005486 amu (a small fraction of amu) = 9.109*10-31 Kg
 The electron volt (eV)
The unit is oftenly used in nuclear physics and denoted eV. It is defined as the increase in
kinetic energy of an electron when it falls through an electrical potential of one volt. This in
turn is equal to the charge of an electron multiplied by the potential drop - that is,

 Other energy units frequently encountered are the MeV (106 eV) and the KeV (103 eV)
Relativistic mass - energy relation
From Einstein’s theory of relativity, mass and energy are equivalent and convertible, one to the
other. Hence the famous Einstein formula,
E= mC2 where C is speed of light (3)
For a particle or other body of rest mass mo, it will release an amount of energy, E rest, equal to
moC2 (Erest, = moC2).
On this basis, even the amu is conveniently expressed in terms of its rest-energy equivalent. We
have,
From (3),

(1.661*10 27 Kg )(2.9979246*108 m / s ) 2

E = mC =2
 931.4943MeV
1.6021773*10 19 J / eV
In MeV/c2 units,
1 amu=931.4943 MeV/c2
Example
Calculate the rest mass energy of an electron in MeV.
Solution.
E=MeC2=9.1095*10-31*(2.9979*108) = 8.1871*10-7 ergs = 8.1871*10-14 J
In MeV,

(8.1871*10-14)J/(1.6022*10-13)J/MeV = 0.5110 MeV

SIZE AND STRUCTURE OF THE NUCLEI
Rutherford, in his experiment to determine the size and structure of the tom, directed α- particles
at a thin piece of metal foil. As the α-particles moved through the foil, they often passed near a
metal nucleus and because of like charges between the α-particles and nuclei, particles were
deflected from their straight-line paths by the coulomb repulsive force. Of course some of these
were deflected backwards through angles greater than 180 o from the incident direction. Those
particles were apparently moving directly toward a nucleus in a head-on collision course

Rutherford employed an energy calculation and found an expression for the distance, d, at which
a particle approaching a nucleus is turned around by coulomb repulsion.

A B

At a point A, all the K.E of the incoming α- particle is completely converted to electrical P.E

 = =

Making d (the distance of closest approach), the subject, we get;

d= (1)

Using eqn. 1, d = 3.2*10-14 m when 7-MeV α-particles approached foil of gold Au (197, 79).
For silver, d = 2*10-14 m. this means that for gold metal, the radius of its atoms is < 3.2*10 -14 m.
Generally, these results imply that the positive charge in an atom is concentrated in a small
sphere (nucleus), with a radius of approximately 10-14 m. for such small measurements, we use a
convenient unit of length called femtometer, fm (also called fermi)
1 fm = 10-15 m
Later experiments a part from Rutherford’s scattering experiments, have shown that most of the
nuclei is approximately spherical and have an average radius of;
r = roA1/3 (2)
where A is the mass no. and ro is a constant equal to 1.2*10-15 m
 Because the volume of a sphere is proportional to the cube of its radius (r 3), it follows
from eqn. 2 that the volume of a nucleus (assumed to be spherical) is directly
proportional to A (mass no.) - this fact suggests that all nuclei have nearly the equal
density
Example
1. Find;
a) an approximate expression for the mass of a nucleus of mass number A,
b) an expression for the volume of this nucleus in terms of the mass number, and
c) a numerical value for its density.
Sol.
a) The mass of the proton is approximately equal to that of the neutron. Thus, if the
mass of one of these particles is m, the mass of the nucleus is approximately Am
b) Assuming that the nucleus is spherical and using Equation 2, we find that,

Volume = 4/3 πr3 = 4/3πro3A (V )

c) =3m/4 = 2.3*1017kg/m3 => ( 2.3*1014) * )

2. Find the radii of;

a) a nucleus of H (4,2)
b) a nucleus of U (238,92)
c) what is the ratio of these radii?4
3. a) use the energy methods to calculate the distance of closest approach for a head-on
collision between an α-particle with an initial energy of 0.5meV and a gold nucleus, Au
(197, 79) at rest (assume that Au nucleus remains at rest during the collision)
b) What minimum initial speed must the α-particle have in order to approach to a distance
of 300 fm

NUCLEAR STABILITY
The existence of nuclear force, makes it possible for the nucleons to stay together despite the
presence of large repulsive electrostatic forces between the like charged protons in the nucleus.
This force is an attractive force, with a very short range about 2 femtometer (1 fm=10-15 meters)
and it acts between all nuclear particles. Thus protons attract each other via the nuclear force.
The force also acts between pairs of neutrons and between neutrons and protons.
Approximately 260 stable nuclei exist, hundreds others that have been observed are unstable.
Light nuclei are most stable if N=Z. Furthermore, heavy nuclei are most stable if the number of
neutrons exceeds the number of protons (N>Z). The reason being that as Z increases, the
strength of the Coulomb force increases, which tends to break the nucleus a part. As a result,
more neutrons are needed to keep the nucleus stable, since neutrons experience only attractive
nuclear forces.
However when Z=83, the repulsive forces between protons cannot be compensated for by
addition of more neutrons, hence elements with Z ≥ 83 are unstable. Except for the so called
magic numbers that exhibit stability even with very large values of N and Z; their values of A are
even numbers. E.g. Z or N= 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126.
Since for Z>83 stability is unusual, these large magic numbers suggests a shell structure of the
nucleus ( called, shell model of the nucleus) similar to the atomic shell structure - which tends to
explain these magic numbers

Fig. 1. A plot of neutron Number N

versus atomic number Z for the
stable nuclei (solid points). The
dashed line, corresponding to
the condition N=Z, is called the
line of stability. The shaded
area shows radioactive nuclei

Binding Energy and Nuclear Forces

The total mass of a nucleus is always less than the sum of the mass of its nucleons. Because mass
is a measure of energy, the total energy of the bound system (the nucleus) is less than the
combined energy of the separated nucleons. The difference in energy is called the binding
energy of the nucleus and can be thought of as the energy that must be added to the nucleus to
break it into its constituents/ components nucleons.
Conservation of energy and the Einstein mass-energy equivalence relationship show that the
binding energy of any nucleus of mass MA is;

(4)
Where, M (H) - the atomic mass of hydrogen (1H)
MA - atomic mass of the element Az X
mn - mass of the neutron
Note
1. All masses in (4) are expressed in amus
2. The mass of the Z - electrons included in the first term, M (H) cancels with the mass of
the Z- electrons included in the term MA, within a small difference associated with the
atomic binding energy of the e-s. This difference is negligible because atomic binding
energies are typically several eVs and nuclear binding energies are several MeV
Example
Calculate the binding energy of the deuteron, which consists of a proton and a neutron, given that
the atomic mass of the deuteron is M2 = 2.014102 amu.
Solution
Given, M (H) =1.007825amu, mn = 1.008665 amu
Using (4),
EB = [M (H)+ mn- M2]*931.494 MeV/amu
=(2.016490-2.014102)* *931.494 MeV/amu= 0.002388 amu*931.494 MeV/amu
= 2.224 MeV
Note: To separate a proton and a neutron in a deuteron atom, one must add 2.224 MeV of energy
to the deuteron e.g. by bombarding it with energetic particles.
Otherwise if EB = 0, then the nucleus would spontaneously break apart
Fig 2. Below is a plot of binding energy per nucleon, Eb/A, as a function of mass number for
various stable nuclei.

Fig. 2. A plot of binding energy per nucleon, Eb/A, as a function of mass number for
various stable nuclei.
Observations from the graph
 Region of maximum stability occurs at a value of ≈ 8.7 MeV/nucleon at A= 50-80.
 For A> 20, Eb/A is almost constant. In this case the nuclear forces between a particular
nucleon and all other nucleons in the nucleus are said to be saturated; i.e a particular
nucleon forms attractive bonds with only a limited number of nucleons ( the short range
character of nuclear force)

The general features of the nuclear binding force as revealed in a wide variety of experiments,
can then be summarized as follows;
 The attractive nuclear force is a different kind of force from the common forces of
electromagnetism and gravitation, and since it dominates the repulsive Coulomb force
between protons in the nucleus, it is stronger than the electromagnetic force.
 The nuclear force is a short-range force that rapidly falls to zero when the separation
between nucleons exceeds several fermis. Evidence for the limited range of nuclear
forces comes from scattering experiments and from the saturation of nuclear forces
already mentioned. The neutron–proton (n–p) potential energy plot of Figure 3 obtained
by scattering neutrons from a target containing hydrogen, shows the short range of the
nuclear force. The depth of the n–p potential energy is 40 to 50 MeV and contains a
strong repulsive component that prevents the nucleons from approaching much closer
than 0.4 fm.

Figure 3. Potential energy versus separation

for the neutron–proton system.