• “Why do protons stay

together when positive 1

charges repel each

other?”

• The main reason is

because of a force
called Strong Force.

• Opposes the
electrostatic force.
 Chemical Reactions

New substances are made through the

formation of new nanoscopic “units” by
making and/or breaking chemical bonds
(Dalton)
All the “action” is outside of the nuclei
Nuclei remain unchanged!
Chemical Bonding involves moving electrons,
not nuclei

*
 Nuclear Reactions

It’s all about changing the nucleus!

Independent of any “standard”
chemical reactions

*
NUCLEAR STABILITY &
BINDING ENERGY
SHIELA MARIE B. SIBAYAN©
 Two kinds of STABILITY
One refers to whether a nuclide will undergo
Kinetic spontaneous nuclear decay.
Stability Does the nuclide decay (unstable, radioactive) or not
(stable)?
Ex. 206Pb is a stable
The “valley of stability” nuclide. 238U is radioactive

Thermo- • One refers to how stable one nuclide is

dynamic compared to another, in terms of “overall
Stability configuration of nucleons”
– Applies to all nuclides, radioactive or not
– Assessed by Binding energy per nucleon

Ex. 56Fe is more stable than 206Pb or 2H

*
Nuclear Stability
6

• As a general rule, a
nucleus will need a
neutron/proton ratio
of 3:2 (or 1.5:1) in
order to stay together.

• This rule is more

precise for larger
nuclei.
Nuclear Stability 7

• Of all known isotopes

of natural elements
(about 1500), only 250
of them are stable.
• All of these stable
isotopes have an
atomic number in
between 1 and 83.
 Stability Curve

Nuclear
Nuclearparticles
particlesare
areheld
heldtogether
together 140
by
byaanuclear
nuclearstrong
strongforce.
force. Stable
120

Neutron number N
nuclei
A stable nucleus remains forever, but 100
as the ratio of N/Z gets larger, the
atoms decay. 80

60
40 Z=N
Elements
Elementswith
withZZ>>82
82are
areall
all 20
unstable.
unstable.
20 40 60 80 100
Atomic number Z
 Atomic Mass Unit, u

One atomic mass unit (1 u) is equal to one-twelfth of the mass of

the most abundant form of the carbon atom--carbon-12.

Atomic mass unit: 1 u = 1.6606 x 10-27 kg

Common atomic masses:

Neutron: 1.008665 u
Proton: 1.007276 u

Electron: 0.00055 u Hydrogen: 1.007825 u

Mass and Energy

E  mc ; c  3 x 10 m/s
2 8

The energy of a mass of 1 u can be found:

E = (1 u)c2 = (1.66 x 10-27 kg)(3 x 108 m/s)2

E = 1.49 x 10-10 J Or E = 931.5 MeV

When converting
amu to energy:
c  931.5
2 MeV
u
Mass Defect

• The nucleus
• is composed of protons and neutrons
• the actual mass is less than the mass of the
separate particles.
• The "missing" mass is in the form of energy
holding the nucleus together.
 Mass Defect
• Mass defect (M.D) is another way of saying nuclear
B.E. It is simply the nuclear B.E. expressed not as
MeV but in mass units (MeV/c2)

B.E   Zm p  Nmn  Zme  c 2  M  A

Z 
X N c2

 ZmH  Nmn  M  X  c
A
Z
2

  mass constituen ts - mass atom  c 2

M .D.   Zm p  Nmn  Zme   M  ZA X N 

  ZmH  Nmn  M  ZA X  
= Mass constituents of atom – mass of atom
Uranium-238
nucleons
The nuclear mass (protons & neutrons)
of uranium-238 is
238.0003 amu U
238
92

atomic number A proton is 1.00728 amu

(protons) A neutron is 1.00867 amu
Uranium-238

92 protons (92)(1.00728) = 92.6698

146 neutrons
(146)(1.00867) = 147.2658
predicted mass = 239.9356
actual mass = 238.0003
mass defect = 1.9353 amu
Binding Energy of U
238

predicted mass actual mass

239.9356 238.0003
1.9353 amu
DE = Dmc2 = 931.5 MeV/amu

What is the binding energy per nucleon of 238 U?

Binding Energy of U
238

Binding energy (1.9353 amu)(931.5 MeV/amu)

per nucleon = 238 nucleons

= 7.57 MeV
Binding Energy

• The mass defect indicates the total energy

involved in holding the nucleus together.
• To determine the stability of the nucleus,
the binding energy per nuclear particle is a
better measure.
 BINDING ENERGY

The binding energy of an atom is the energy released as all the constituent particles (n, p and e)
come together FROM INFINITY under both the STRONG force and the EM force.
The binding energy is something that is LOST from the atomic system. Thus it is not something that
the system possesses.
 SINGLE NEUTRON SEPARATION ENERGY
The same method can be used to easily compute the “Single
Neutron Separation Energy” – which is the energy required
to “pull” a neutron out of the nucleus.


Sn  M X N c A
Z  2
 M  A1
Z 
X N 1 c  mn c
2 2

 
Sn  M A1
Z  
X N 1  mn  M ZA X N c 2 
 SINGLE PROTON SEPARATION ENERGY
The same clever strategy applies to finding the “Single Proton Separation
Energy” Sp. But note here there is a difference – we must be careful in
counting electron mass.

Sp  M  A
Z 
X N c2  M  A 1
Y c
Z 1 N
2
 m p c 2  me c 2

Sp  M A 1
Z 1 YN   m p  me  M A
Z 
X N  c2
 M A 1
Z 1YN   mH  M  ZA X N  c 2 
S p  [Mass of Final Products – Mass of Initial atom] c2
Nuclear Binding Energy
• Energy must be added to a
nucleus to separate it into its
individual nucleons (protons
and neutrons).
• The energy that must be
added to separate the
nucleons is called the
binding energy EB.
• The binding energy is the
energy by which the
How much is electronic binding energy?

There are two types of binding energy in the atom – Strong Nuclear B.E.
and the Electromagnetic B.E. of the electrons to the nucleus.

B  X   BNuclear  X   BEM  X 
A
Z
A
Z
A
Z

 BNuclear  ZA X   2.08 10 5  Z 7/3

BEM  U   2.08 10   92 

238 5 7/3
92

 0.795MeV