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Extra Review session: Sunday 5-7:00 PM, Nicholson #130
Chapter 31 Nuclear Physics and Radioactivity
Weve been studying atomic structure the Rutherford model of the atom,
where electrons orbit around a nucleus.
And now we know that it takes Quantum Mechanics to correctly describe the
nature of these orbits.
15.9994
8 -2
MP 90.18 Symbol
BP 50.15
1.429
O
1s22s22p4
Density Oxygen
Electronic configuration
Name
8 Neutrons!
Shorthand notation for element representation:
A
So oxygen would be:
16
O Z X
8
The mass of the elements is usually given in atomic mass units (u).
1u 1.6605 10-27 kg
Nuclei that contain the same number of protons but a different number of
neutrons are called isotopes.
11 10
5 B 5 B
Most boron atoms have 6 neutrons (81.1%), but some (18.9%) have only 5
neutrons.
The atomic mass number (A) listed on the periodic table is the average atomic
mass of the isotopes, for boron this is 10.811.
30.2 Strong Nuclear Force and Stability
What does the nucleus look like?
Why Coulomb repulsion does tear apart nucleus?
The protons and neutrons are clustered together in a blob that is approximately
spherical. The radius of the nucleus is ~ 1 fm = 1 10-15 m.
We know that like charges repel, and we can calculate the repulsive force
between the two protons using Coulombs Law.
Assuming the charges are separated by 1 fm, we get a force of 231 N. This
results in an acceleration of the protons = 1.4 1029 m/s2. HUGE!!!
There must be an attractive force holding them together, and its not gravity,
because the gravitational attraction between to subatomic particles is very
small: ~1.9 10-34 N!
There is a new type of force. Its the Strong Nuclear Force.
2. The range of the force is extremely short. It is very strong for distances ~1 fm
and essentially zero at farther distances.
Most nuclei listed in the periodic table are stable, but some are not.
Any element with an atomic number Z > 83 will be unstable and break apart over
time. It will rearrange itself into a stable nuclei. This process is called
Radioactivity.
Clicker Question 31 - 1
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31.3 Nuclear Binding Energy
In order to separate two nucleons, we have to overcome the strong nuclear force.
The binding energy of the nucleus appears as extra mass in the separated
nucleons.
In other words, the sum of the masses of the individual nucleons is greater than
the mass of the stable nucleus by an amount Dm, where Dm = the mass defect of
the nucleus.
The nuclear binding energy then is just this mass converted to energy:
1. a Rays
2. b Rays Increasing
Energy
3. g Rays
1. a Rays are actually a particles (helium nuclei). They consist of 2 protons and
2 neutrons.
2. b Rays are electrons.
3. g Rays are high-energy photons.
Clicker Question 31 - 2
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1. a Radiation: A nucleus that is emitting a particles is undergoing a decay.
4
Each a particle is a He nucleus, i.e.: 2 He
A
Z P A-4
Z- 2 D He 4
2
A
Z P AZ1D 01e
*Notice again, that the charge is conserved!
So where does the electron come from???
It turns out that neutrons themselves are unstable, and they will decay into a
proton.
When the neutron decays into a proton, it releases an electron (b-) and an
antineutrino (n-e)
There is a 2nd type of b decay called b+ decay.
The positron has the same mass and spin of the electron, but opposite
electric charge.
The positron is created when a nuclear proton is transformed into a neutron:
A
Z P A
Z1 D e 0
1
238
92 U 90
234
Th* 42 He The * means the Th nucleus is in an excited state:
234
90 Th* 90
234
Th g So, in general then, for g decay, we have:
P P g
Excited Lower energy g ray A * A 0
state state
Z Z 0
31.6 Radioactivity
Assume I have a chunk of radioactive material that contains N radioactive nuclei,
or parent nuclei.
Which one of these nuclei is going to decay, and when?
Since radioactivity is a quantum-mechanical process, we cant know with certainty.
We can only predict when a particular nucleus will decay. Thus, radioactivity is a
statistical process.
As time passes, some of the nuclei will decay, and N will decrease.
To help describe this process, its useful to define something called the half-life:
It is represented by T1/2, and it is the time it takes for of the nuclei present to
decay.
So T1/2 will have units of time [s]. If the half-life is long, it can also be represented
in years.
As an example, lets say that I have some radioactive element X which has a half-
life of 1 year, and I originally start with 100 atoms of it.
How many atoms will be left after 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and so on???
Time # of X atoms left
0 100
1 year (1 half-life) 50 (1/2 left) Lets make a plot of the atoms
left versus time:
2 years (2 half-lives) 25 (1/4 left)
3 years (3 half-lives) 12.5 (1/8 left)
4 years (4 half-lives) 6.25 (1/16 left)
. .
100 N
n years (n half-lives) n
n (1/2n left)
2 2
Example: Assume I have a box of 5 108 Kr atoms sitting on the table. How
many will be left in the box after 45 minutes?
Solution: From the table we just looked at, we see that the half-life of Kr is
3.16 min.
Each life reduces the number of Kr nuclei by . Thus, after n half-lives, I have:
N
nuclei left. So how many half-lives do we have in 45 min?
2n
45 min
n 14.24 or, 14 complete half-lives.
3.16 min
N 5 108
So, N f n 14 30,517
2 2
We can talk about the rate at which any particular radioactive sample decays.
This is called the Activity, and it equals the # of disintegrations per second.
As each nuclei disintegrates, N decreases. The more nuclei I start with, the more
that will disintegrate in a given time period:
DN Disintegra tions
The units on activity: Bq (Becquerel) [decays/s]
Dt s
t
N Noe
N is the # of nuclei left after time t.
Notice, that at t = 0, N = No.
No is the # of nuclei initially.
We can relate the decay constant to the half-life T1/2 since we know that when:
No No 1
t T1/ 2 , N . Thus, Noe T1 / 2
e T1 / 2
2 2 2
0
Take the ln of both sides: ln( 12 ) ln e T1 / 2 ln(1) ln(2) T1/ 2
ln 2 0.693
ln(2) T1/ 2 T1/ 2
Example: Lets redo the Kr problem: Assume I have a box of 5 108 Kr atoms
sitting on the table. How many will be left in the box after 45 minutes?
0.693 0.693
First, we calculate the decay constant: 0.219 min -1
Recall that T1/2 for Kr is 3.16 min. T1/ 2 3.16 min
t 0.693 DN
N Noe
Dt
N
T1/ 2 Here,
must be
in s-1.
Given the half-life, T1/2, you can get and then find N or the activity, etc.