Nuclear Power Engineering

Lecture 2

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Chapter 2:Atomic and Nuclear Physics

❑ 2.1 Fundamental Particles
❑ 2.2 Atomic and Nuclear Structure
❑ 2.3 Atomic and Molecular Weight
❑ 2.4 Atomic and Nuclear Radii
❑ 2.5 Mass and Energy
❑ 2.6 Particle Wavelengths
❑ 2.7 Excited States and Radiation
❑ 2.8 Nuclear Stability and Radioactive Decay
❑ 2.9 Radioactivity Calculations
❑ 2.10 Nuclear Reactions
❑ 2.11 Binding Energy
❑ 2.12 Nuclear Models
❑ 2.13 Gases, Liquids, and Solids
❑ 2.14 Atom Density

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

2.1 FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES

Electron
The electron has a rest-mass me = 9.10954 X
10-31 Kg3 and carries a charge e = 1.6 x 10-19
coulombs. There are two types of electrons
for the difference in the sign.
Normal electron (or Negartron) carries –ve
charge, while Positron carries +ve charge.
Other than charge and sign, both are
identical.
When Electron and Positron collides both
disappear and two (or more) photons are
emitted. This process is known as electron
annihilation, and the photons that appear are
called annihilation radiation.

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

2.1 FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES

Proton
This particle has a rest mass mp = 1.67265 x 10-27
Kg and carries an a positive charge equal in
magnitude to the charge on the electron.
Protons are composite particles composed of
three valence quarks: two up quarks of charge +
2/3e and one down quark of charge − 1/3e.

Neutron
The mass of the neutron is slightly larger than
the mass of proton, mn = 1.67495 x 10-27 Kg
and it is electrically neutral. Neutrons are
thought to comprise of one up quark of charge
+2/3 and two down quarks of charge -1/3
each, resulting in a net charge of
zero. Neutrons

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Quarks

• Quark, any member of

a group of elementary
subatomic particles
that interact by means
of the strong force and
are believed to be
among the
fundamental
constituents of matter.

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

2.1 FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES

Photon
A photon is the smallest discrete amount or
quantum of electromagnetic radiation. It is the
basic unit of all light. Photons are always in motion
and, in a vacuum, travel at a constant speed to all
observers of 2.998 x 108 m/s. This is commonly
referred to as the speed of light, denoted by the
letter c.
Neutrino
A neutrino is a subatomic particle that is very
similar to an electron, but has no electrical charge
and a very small mass, which might even be zero.
Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in
the universe. Because they have very little
interaction with matter, however, they are
incredibly difficult to detect

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Rutherford’s Experiment
❑ Rutherford saw that, to
deflect the alpha particle
backward, there must be
a large force;
❑ This force could be
provided if the positive
charge, instead of being
spread throughout the
atom, were concentrated
tightly at its center.
❑ Then the incoming alpha
particle could get very
close to the positive
charge without
penetrating it; such a
close encounter would
result in a large
deflecting force.

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

NUCLEAR NOMENCLATURE
❑ Atoms/nuclei are specified by # of
❑ neutrons: N
❑ protons: Z

[Z electron in neutral atoms]

❑ Atoms of same element have same atomic number Z

❑ Isotopes of the same element have same atomic number Z
but different number of neutrons N

A
❑ Isotopes are denoted by
Z X
❑ X is the chemical symbol
❑ A = Z + N is the mass number
❑ E.g.: 92235U, 238U [Z is redundant here]

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

ATOMIC AND MOLECU LAR WEIGHT

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

ATOMIC AND MOLECU LAR WEIGHT

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

NUCLEAR NOMENCLATURE
❑ Nucleons
Atomic nuclei are quantum bound states of particles called nucleons of
which there are two types, the positively charged proton and the uncharged
neutron.
❑ The two nucleons have similar masses:
mnc2 = 939.56 MeV and mpc2 = 938.27 MeV
i.e. a mass difference of order one part per thousand
(mn − mp)c2 = 1.29 MeV
❑ Nucleons and electrons generate magnetic fields and interact with magnetic
fields with their magnetic moment.
❑ Nucleons are bound in nuclei by nuclear forces, which are of short range but
are sufficiently strong and attractive to overcome the long-range Coulomb
repulsion between protons.

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

NUCLEAR NOMENCLATURE
❑ Leptons
❑ Some spin 1/2 particles are not subject to the strong interaction and
therefore do not bind to form nuclei. Such particles are called leptons to
distinguish them from nucleons. Examples electron e− and its antiparticle
positron e+.
❑ As far as we know, leptons are elementary particles that cannot be
considered as bound states of constituent particles.
❑ Nucleons, on the other hand, are believed to be bound states of three spin
1/2 fermions called quarks.
❑ Two species of quarks, the up-quark u (charge 2/3) and the down quark d
(charge -1/3) are needed to construct the nucleons:
proton = uud , neutron = udd .

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

NUCLEAR NOMENCLATURE
❑ Hadrons and Pions
❑ Besides protons and neutrons, there exist many other particles that are
bound states of quarks and anti-quarks. Such particles are called hadrons.
❑ For nuclear physics, the most important are the three pions: (π+, π0, π+).
❑ Strong interactions between nucleons result from the exchange of pions and
other hadrons just as electromagnetic interactions result from the exchange
of photons.

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

NUCLEAR NOMENCLATURE
❑ NUCLIDE
Atom/nucleus with a specific N and Z

❑ ISOTOPE
Nuclides with same charge Z, (≠ N)

❑ ISOBAR
Nuclides with same mass # A (≠Z,N)

❑ ISOTONE
Nuclides with same N, ≠Z

❑ ISOMER
Same nuclide (but different energy state)

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Units, dimensions and physical constants

❑ Nuclear energies are measured in powers of the unit Electron volt:
1 eV = J.
❑ The electron volt corresponds to the kinetic energy gained by an electron
accelerated through a potential difference of 1 volt.
❑ Nuclear energies are usually in the range of MeV (mega-electron volt, or
106eV).
❑ Nuclear masses are measured in terms of the atomic mass unit :
1 amu or 1u = 1.66 × 10−27 kg.
❑ One amu is equivalent to1/12 of the mass of a neutral ground-state atom of
12C.

❑ Since electrons are much lighter than protons and neutrons (and protons
and neutrons have similar mass), one nucleon has mass of about 1 amu.
❑ Because of the mass-energy equivalence, we will often express masses in
terms of energy units.

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Units, dimensions and physical constants

❑ To convert between energy (in MeV) and mass (in amu) the conversion
factor is of course the speed of light square (since E = mc2).
❑ In these units we have:
c = 931.502 MeV/u.
Proton mass: 938.280MeV/c2 .
Neutron mass: 938.573MeV/c2 .
Electron mass: 0.511MeV/c2 .
❑ Note: you can find most of these values online!
❑ Scales of magnitude for typical lengths are femtometer (1fm=10−15m) also
called Fermi (F) and Angstrom 1 A˚ = 10−10m (for atomic properties) while
typical time scales span a very broad range.
❑ Physical constants that we will encounter include the speed of light,
c = 299, 792, 458 m s−1, the electron charge, e =1.602176487 × 10−19 C,
the Planck constant h =6.62606896 × 10−34 J s ,
Avogadro’s number Na = 6.02214179 × 1023 mol−1 ,
the permittivity of vacuum ε0 =8.854187817 × 10−12 Fm−1 (F=Faraday)
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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Nuclear Radii
❑ 1 femtometer = 1 fermi = 1 fm = 10-15 m.
❑ Electron-scattering experiments (as well as experiments of other kinds)
allow us to assign to each nuclide an effective radius given by r = r0 A1/3
in which A is the mass number and r0 ≈ 1.2 fm.
❑ We see that the volume of a nucleus, which is proportional to r3, is directly
proportional to the mass number A and is independent of the separate
values of Z and N.
❑ That is, we can treat most nuclei as being a sphere with a volume that
depends on the number of nucleons,
❑ regardless of their type.

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Example Problems

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

2.6 PARTICLE WAVE LENGTHS

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 Atomic and Nuclear Physics

2.7 EXCITED STATES AND RADIATION

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