Assignment 03

Nuclear configuration and Nuclear Spin

Submitted By
Faraz Nabeel Taj

Registration No.
L1F22MPCM0015

Submitted to
Dr. Akhyar Farrukh

Course Code
CH652
Course title
Radiation Chemistry

Submission date
June 01, 2023

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 Table of Contents
Question No. 01...............................................................................................................................4

Nuclear shells...............................................................................................................................4

Filling of Nuclear Energy Levels................................................................................................4

Principal Quantum Number (n)...............................................................................................4

Angular Quantum Number (l).................................................................................................5

Total Angular Momentum Quantum Number (j)....................................................................5

Multiplicity..................................................................................................................................6

Example: Filling of nucleons ......................................................................................................6

In Ground State........................................................................................................................6

In Ground State........................................................................................................................7

Question N0. 02...............................................................................................................................7

Nuclear Spin................................................................................................................................7

In Ground State........................................................................................................................7

In Excited State........................................................................................................................8

Nuclear Spin ...............................................................................................................................9

In Ground State........................................................................................................................9

In Excited State......................................................................................................................10

Nuclear Spin..............................................................................................................................10

In Ground State......................................................................................................................11

In Excited State......................................................................................................................11

References..................................................................................................................................12

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 Question No. 01
Explain in detail nuclear shells and how to fill the nuclear energy levels with protons and
neutrons both at ground state and excited state.

Nuclear shells
Nuclear shells, also known as energy levels or orbitals, are a fundamental concept in nuclear
physics that describes the organization of protons and neutrons within an atomic nucleus. These
shells are analogous to the electron shells in an atom, but there are some differences due to the
strong nuclear forces at play. The concept of nuclear shells arises from the properties of the
nuclear potential well. The nuclear potential well is a combination of the attractive nuclear force
and the repulsive Coulomb force between protons. It creates energy levels that protons and
neutrons can occupy.

Filling of Nuclear Energy Levels

The filling of nuclear energy levels follows the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that no
two particles can have the same set of quantum numbers. In the case of protons and neutrons, the
relevant quantum numbers are:

 The principal quantum number (n)

 The orbital angular momentum quantum number (l)
 The total angular momentum quantum number (j).

Principal Quantum Number (n)

The principal quantum number determines the energy
level or shell in which a nucleon (proton or neutron)
resides. It can take positive integer values (1, 2, 3, etc.)
see figure 1, where higher values indicate higher
energy levels further from the nucleus. Each shell can
accommodate a maximum number of nucleons
determined by the "2n^2" rule.
Figure 1: Principal Quantum Numbers (n)

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Angular Quantum Number (l)
The angular quantum number describes the shape of the orbital in which a nucleon moves within
a given shell. It can take integer values ranging from 0 to (n-1) as mentioned in table 1.

Spin Quantum Number Angular Quantum Number Subshells

(n) l = (n-1)
1 1-1 = 0 s
2 2–1=1 p
3 3–1=2 d
4 4–1=3 f
Table 1: Spin and Angular Quantum Numbers

Total Angular Momentum Quantum Number (j)

Total mngular momentum quantum number combines the principal quantum number (n) and the
orbital angular quantum number (l). It characterizes the total angular momentum of a nucleon
within a given shell. Mathematically, the value of j is calculated by following equation:

1
j=l±
2

The possible values of j depend on the values of l and they are mentioned in the table 2.

Spin
Subshel 1
Principal Quantum Number Angular Quantum Number ( j=l± )
l 2
(n) (l)
1 1
j=l+ j=l−
2 2
1 0 s 1 1
-
2 2
2 1 p 3 1
2 2
3 2 d 5 3
2 2
4 3 f 7 5
2 2
Table 2: Spin quantum numbers (j)

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The combination of these quantum numbers (n, l, j) specifies the unique energy level or orbital in
which a nucleon is located within the nucleus. The Pauli exclusion principle states that no two
nucleons can have the same set of quantum numbers, meaning that each energy level can be
occupied by a maximum of 2 nucleons with opposite spin (up and down).

Multiplicity
The multiplicity, denoted by the symbol 2j + 1, represents the number of different spin states
associated with a specific value of the total angular momentum quantum number (j). It is derived
from the fact that the spin quantum number (s) can take two values (+1/2 or -1/2) for each
possible value of j. Therefore, the multiplicity is given by 2j + 1.

For example, if the total angular momentum quantum number (j) is 3/2, the multiplicity is (2 ×
3/2 + 1) = 4, meaning there are four possible spin states associated with that particular energy
level or subshell.

Example: Filling of nucleons in C 12

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Number of protons = Z = 6

Number of neutrons = N = A – Z = 6

In Ground State

Figure 2: Nuclear Configuration of Carbon-12 in ground state

In Ground State

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 Figure 3: Nuclear Configuration of Carbon-12 in excited state

Question N0. 02
Calculate the spins of the following X 22 41 31
11 , Y 20 , Z15 nuclides at ground state and excited state.

Nuclear Spin of X 22
11

Number of protons = 11
Number of neutrons = 11
In Ground State

Figure 4: Nuclear configuration of X 22

11 in ground state

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As indicated by the nuclear configuration in figure 4, both the nucleons are odd in numbers
hence both are contributing to the nuclear spin hence we will apply Nordheim rule to calculate
the spin of the given nuclide.

N=J 1+ J 2+l 1 +l 2

5 5
N= + +2+2
2 2

N=9

As the Nordheim number is odd so we will add J1 and J2 to get the nuclear spin

Nuclear spin (I) = J 1 +J 2

5 5
I= +
2 2

I=5

In Excited State

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Figure 5:Nuclear configuration of X 11 in excited state

As indicated by the nuclear configuration in Figure 5, both the nucleons are odd in numbers
hence both are contributing to the nuclear spin hence we will apply the Nordheim rule to
calculate the spin of the given nuclide.

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 N=J 1+ J 2+l 1 +l 2

5 5
N= + +2+2
2 2

N=9

As the Nordheim number is odd so we will add J1 and J2 to get the nuclear spin

Nuclear spin (I) = J 1 +J 2

5 5
I= +
2 2

I=5

Nuclear Spin of Y 41
20

Number of protons = 20
Number of neutrons = 21
In Ground State

41
Figure 6: Nuclear configuration of Y 20 in ground state

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As indicated by figure 6, the nuclear configuration of Y 41
20 in ground state the given nuclide

7
follows even odd case and its spin is due the unpaired neutron, present in 1 f 7 .
2 2

In Excited State

41
Figure 7: Nuclear configuration of Y 20 in excited state

As indicated by figure 7, the nuclear configuration of Y 41

20 in excited state the given nuclide

7
follows even odd case and its spin is due to the unpaired neutron present in 1 f 7 .
2 2

Nuclear Spin of Z31

15

Number of protons = 15
Number of neutrons = 16

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In Ground State

31
Figure 8: Nuclear configuration of Z15 in ground state

As indicated by figure 8, the nuclear configuration of Z31

15 in ground state the given nuclide

3
follows odd even case and its spin is due the unpaired proton, present in 1 d 3 .
2 2

In Excited State

31
Figure 9: Nuclear configuration of Z15 1 in ground state

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As indicated by figure 9, the nuclear configuration of Z31
15 in excited state the given nuclide

1
follows odd even case and its spin is due the unpaired proton, present in 2 s 1 .
2 2

References
 Krane, K. S. (1988). Introductory Nuclear Physics. John Wiley & Sons.
 Heyde, K. (2004). Basic Ideas and Concepts in Nuclear Physics: An Introductory
Approach. CRC Press.
 Cottingham, W. N., & Greenwood, D. A. (2010). An Introduction to Nuclear Physics.
Cambridge University Press.

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