NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY

The atom: History

• Democritus :400BC
• Atom=atomos (not to be cut) by a Greek
philosopher who began the search for a
description of matter
The atomic model has
changed throughout the
centuries, starting in 400 BC,
when it looked like a billiard
ball . The theory was ignored
for more than 2000 years
 Aristotle and Plato
• favored the earth, fire, air
and water approach to the
nature of matter. Their ideas
held sway because of their
eminence as philosophers.
Originally proposed by
Empedocles in 450 BC. The
atomos idea was buried for
approximately 2000 years.
 More models….
• Dalton
• Rutherford
• Bohr
• Modern (summary)
• Wave model
• THE BOHR MODEL

In this model, the

nucleus is orbited by
electrons, which are
in different
energy levels.
 Daltons atomic theory
• Postulates
Summary
 Indivisible Electron Nucleus Orbit Electron
Cloud
Greek X
Dalton X
Thomson X
Rutherford X X
Bohr X X X
Wave X X X
 THE ATOMIC STRUCTURE
• The atom
• Subatomic particles
• Electron: discovery and properties
• The nucleus: ,,
• Proton: ,,
• Neutron: ,,
 Some definitions
• Atomic number
• Mass number
• Chemical element
• Nuclide
• Isotopes
• Isotones
• Isobars
• Isodiaphers
 Some definitions..
• System
• Surroundings
• Boundary
• Open
• Closed
• Isolated
 Law of conservation of Mass – Energy
• The law of conservation of mass or the principle of
mass/matter conservation, states that the mass of
an isolated system (closed to all matter and energy)
will remain constant over time (*give examples)

• The law of conservation of energy (1st law of

thermodynamics): the energy of an isolated system
remains constant.

• The law of conservation of mass-energy: the total

amount of mass and energy in the universe is
constant. E α m, E=mc2
 Mass defect
• Represents the amount of matter that would be
converted into energy and released if the
nucleus were formed from separate neutrons
and protons.
• The difference between the mass of a nucleus
and the sum of the masses of the nucleons of
which it is composed is called the mass defect.
• *Use Cu-63 to explain mass defect and do some
calculations
 Binding Energy
• Nuclear binding energy: is the energy
required to break down a nucleus into its
component nucleons or energy involved in
the combination of nucleons to form a
nucleus. It is in essence the quantitative
measure of nuclear stability .

• Binding energy is based on Einstein's

equation E=mc2
 Binding Energy..

The Binding Energy Per Nucleon as a Function of Mass Number

 Nuclear stability.
• A stable nuclide
• Determinants of nuclear stability:
• (i) Nuclear forces (ii) odd-even rule (iii)
magic numbers (iv) n/p on N/Z ratio
 Nuclear stability..
• i. Nuclear forces
• Neutron-to-neutron
• Proton-to-proton
• Proton-neutron
• Electromagnetic forces
• Weak forces
 Nuclear stability...
• ii. Nuclides with even numbers of protons and
neutrons are more stable.

• In general, nuclear stability is greater for nuclides

containing even numbers of protons and neutrons
or both.
•
 Nuclear stability….
• iii. Specific numbers of protons or neutrons
(magic numbers) such as 2, 8, 20, 28, 50,
82, and 126 produce stable nuclides

• For example: 42He, 168O, and 4020Ca. One

stable isotope of lead, 208 82 Pb, has 82
protons and 126 neutrons.
 Nuclear stability…..

• All nuclides with 84 or more

protons are unstable with
respect to radioactive decay.
• Light nuclides are stable when
neutron/proton = 1.
• For heavier elements the
neutron /proton ratio required
for stability is greater than 1
and increases with Z.
End