TOPIC 7 UNIT 04
NUCLEAR & PARTICLE PHYSICS
Menuka Suwinda
BELVOIR COLLEGE INTERNTIONAL
✓ Nuclear and Particle Physics
Nucleon number and proton number
An atom is formed of 3 constituents: protons, neutrons & electrons. At the centre
of an atom is a nucleus formed of protons & neutrons, therefore they are known as nucleons,
where as electrons orbit the nucleus in shells.
The proton number is the number of protons in an atom and is denoted by Z, while
the nucleon number is the number of protons and neutrons, denoted by A. These will often be
shown in the form: (where” X” is the symbol for the element).
Alpha particle scattering as evidence for the nuclear model of the
atom
Rutherford scattering demonstrated the existence of a nucleus. Before this
experiment, scientists believed in Thomson’s plum pudding model which stated that the
atom was made up a sphere of positive charge, with small areas of negative charge
evenly distributed throughout like plums in a plum pudding. Rutherford scattering led to the
production of a new model for the atom, known as the nuclear model because the plum
pudding model had been disproved.
Rutherford’s apparatus included an alpha source and gold foil in an evacuated
chamber which was covered in a fluorescent coating, which meant you could see where the
alpha particles hit the inside of the chamber. To observe the path of the alpha particles,
there was a microscope which could be moved around the outside of the chamber.
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If the plum pudding model was true, the expected results would be that the positively
charged alpha particles would be deflected by a very small amount when passing through the
foil, however this was not what was observed:
• Most of alpha particle passed straight through the foil with no deflection – this
suggested that the atom is mostly empty space (and not uniform density as
suggested by the plum pudding model)
• Small amount of particles were deflected by a large angle – this suggested that
the centre of the atom is positively charged, as positively charged alpha particles
were repelled from the centre and deflected.
• Very few particles were deflected back by more than 900 – this suggested that
the centre of the atom was very dense as it could deflect fast moving alpha
particles, but also that it was very small as very small amount of particles were
deflected by this amount.
From the above results it was concluded that the atom has a small, dense, positively charged
nucleus at its centre.
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Thermionic emission
Thermionic emission is where a metal is heated until the free electrons on its surface
gain enough energy and are emitted.
Electrons can be accelerated using electric fields in order to increase their velocity,
but they can also be accelerated radially using magnetic fields, because the force
experienced by an electron moving in a magnetic field is always perpendicular to its motion.
Electron guns use a potential difference in order to accelerate electrons, which are
released from the cathode by heating it (thermionic emission). The electrons are
accelerated towards the anode, which has a small gap, the electrons which pass through
this gap form a narrow electron beam which travels at a constant velocity beyond the anode.
Particle accelerators & detectors
Electron guns are useful for producing electron beams of a relatively low energy to be
used in particle accelerators. There are two types of particle accelerators that you need to
be aware of:
• Linear accelerators (LINAC) – uses an alternating electric field
• Cyclotron – uses a magnetic field and an alternating electric field
Linear accelerators are formed by several cylindrical electrodes, called drift tubes,
which progressively increase in length along the accelerator (labelled C1 – C4 in the diagram
below). Adjacent electrodes to the opposite polarity of an alternating voltage, which means
that alternating electric fields are formed in the gaps between electrodes.
At the particle source (labelled S), groups of charged particles are released such that
the polarity of the voltage of the first electrode is opposite to the polarity of the charged
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particles, so that they are accelerated towards the first electrode. The length of the
cylindrical electrodes is calculated such that, just as the particle passes through the
electrode, the polarity of the voltage (and so the electric field) reverses, meaning that the
particles can be accelerated towards the next electrode. And this process repeats until the
particles reach the desired speed.
A Cyclotron is formed of two semi-circular electrodes called “Dees”, with a uniform
magnetic field acting perpendicular to the plane of the electrodes, and a high frequency
alternating voltage applied between the electrodes. The charged particles move from the
centre of one of the electrodes, and are deflected in a circular path by the magnetic field.
(Because the force exerted by the magnetic field is always perpendicular to the direction of
travel, the particle’s speed will not increase due to the magnetic field, which is why there is
an alternating electric field between the electrodes).
Once the particles reach the edge of the electrode they begin to move across the gap
between the electrodes, where they are accelerated by the electric field, meaning the
radius of their circular path will increase as they move through the second electrode.
When the particles reach the gap again, the alternating electric field changes direction,
allowing the particles to be accelerated again. This process repeats several times until
the required speed is reached by the particles and they exit the cyclotron.
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Electric and magnetic fields are also used in particle detectors, such as mass
spectrometers, which work in following way:
1. A sample is vaporized, meaning it is converted into a vapour (gas)
2. Next, an electron gas is used to create a beam of electrons which are directed at the
vapour. The fast-moving electrons collide with the ions in the vapour causing them to
become ionized (lose electrons), causing them to become charged.
3. Then, the ions are accelerated using an electric field as they are now charged.
4. Once they have been accelerated, they pass into the velocity selector, where an
electric and magnetic field are acting perpendicular to each other. The fields exert
forces on the ions in opposite directions and only the ions for which the forces are
balanced travel in a straight line and then pass through into the separation chamber.
This results in only particles travelling at a particular speed progressing into the next
part of the mass spectrometer.
5. In the separation chamber, there is a uniform magnetic field which exerts a force on
the ions perpendicular to their direction of travel, causing them to follow a circular
path and hit a screen, where the radius of their circular path can be measured.
The radius of the path of the ions is used to determine their mass-to-change ratios, which
are used to identify the sample.
Radius of the path for a charged particle in a magnetic field
The force exerted by a magnetic field on a charged particle is always perpendicular to
its motion of travels, which causes charged particles to follow a circular path when in a
magnetic field, because the force induced by the magnetic field acts as a centripetal force.
By combining the formulas for centripetal force and magnetic force on a charged
particle, you can derive the formula to find the radius of the particle’s circular path:
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You can simplify the equation above further by using the fact p = mv
𝒑
𝒓=
𝑩𝑸
Where p is the particle’s momentum, Q is its charge and B is the magnetic flux density.
Applications of conservation laws
During particle interactions, the following properties must always be conserved:
• Charge
• Energy
• Momentum
To show that the above properties are conserved in a particle interaction, you must find
the value of each property before and after the interaction and make sure they are equal.
For example, beta – minus decay:
You can observe the movement of charged particle by looking at the particle tracks
from a cloud or bubble chamber. Both of these devices rely on the fact charged particles
leave a trail of ionized particles in their path, and these ionized particles can be detected.
A bubble chamber is formed of a tank filled with superheated liquid hydrogen, which
forms bubbles around any ionized particles created as a result of the movement of a charged
particle. Therefore, by observing the path created by these visible bubbles you can see the
path taken by moving, charged particles. As the tank is placed in a magnetic field, charged
particles can be seen to take circular paths.
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You can analyze bubble chamber tracks in the following ways:
→ Find the radius of curvature of tracks – This will allow you find out certain
characteristics of the particle you are observing by using the following equation
(which is derived above):
𝒑
𝒓=
𝑩𝑸
→ Find the direction of curvature – This will allow you to find out whether a
particle has a positive or negative charge by using Fleming’s left-hand rule.
→ Analyze interactions – You see what particle interactions occur by looking at the
shape of particle tracks.
➢ If the tracks stop suddenly – particles have collided
➢ If the tracks abruptly change direction – particles have collided
➢ If the tracks look like they have come from nothing (as seen in the red and blue
tracks highlighted below) – particles have been created from an uncharged
particle (photon) which doesn’t create tracks in a bubble chamber.
Investigating the structure of nucleons
When investigating an object, you must use waves with a wavelength similar in size
to that of the object you are investigating. You can find the wavelength of particles by using
the de Broglie relation, which shows that a particle’s momentum and wavelength are inversely
proportional:
𝒉
𝝀=
𝒑
Where 𝝀 is the de Broglie wavelength, h is the plank constant and p is the momentum of the
particle.
By looking at the De Broglie relation, you can see that the smaller the de Broglie wavelength
needed, the higher the energy (/momentum) of the particle required.
Nucleons are incredibly small, around 1.6 fm (10-15), because of this, you must use very small
wavelengths when investigating them, meaning the particles you use will have extremely high
energies.
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Creation and annihilation of matter and antimatter particles
In the theory of special relatively Einstein proved that mass and energy are
interchangeable and can be related by the following equation:
𝜟𝑬 = 𝜟𝒎𝒄𝟐
Where E is energy, m is mass and c is the speed of light in a vacuum.
This means that any time, mass and energy can be exchanged. This can be seen
through the following processes which occur at the subatomic scale.
Pair production is where a photon is converted into an equal amount of matter and
antimatter. This can only occur when the photon has an energy greater than the total rest
energy of both particles, any excess energy is converted into the kinetic energy of the
particles.
Annihilation is where a particle and its corresponding antiparticle collide, as a result
their masses are converted into energy. This energy, along with the kinetic energy of the
two particles is released in the form of 2 photons moving in opposite directions in order to
conserve momentum.
eV as units for energy and eV/c2 as units for mass.
The electronvolt (eV) is a unit of energy, usually used to express small energies. 1eV is
equal to the kinetic energy of an electron accelerated across a potential difference of 1V or
1.6 x 10-19 J.
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To express the amount of energy present in particle interactions, it is usually more useful to
use.
-13
• MeV (Megaelectronvolts) – this is equivalent 1.6 x 10 J
-10
• GeV (Gigaelectronvolts) – this is equivalent 1.6 x 10 J
-13
You can convert from joules to MeV or GeV by dividing the value by either 1.6 x 10 J
(for Mev) or 1.6 x 10 -10 J (for GeV).
-13
You can convert from MeV or GeV joules by multiplying the value by either 1.6 x 10 J
– 10
(for MeV) or 1.6 x 10 J (Gev).
By arranging the mass – energy equivalence formula so that mass is the subject, you can see
that mass can have the units j/c2 (where the units of c have not been simplified further).
E = mc2
𝐄
𝐦=
𝐜𝟐
If you are using MeV or GeV as the units of energy instead of joules, the unit of mass would
become: MeV/c2 or GeV/c2.
Relativistic increase in particle lifetimes.
When particles are travelling at speeds that are comparable to the speed of light
(relativistic speeds), some of their properties appear to change. One of these properties is
the length of their lifetimes, this is due to a process known as time dilation, which occurs as
a consequence of special relativity. Time dilation causes time to run at different speeds
depending on the motion of an observer.
As a consequence of time dilation, the lifetime of a particle moving at relativistic
speeds recorded by a stationary observer would be longer than the actual time (as suggested
by predictions).
Muon decay provides experimental evidence for time dilation because muons enter
the atmosphere at very high speeds and so experience significant time dilation, which
affects how quickly they decay. Muons are formed in the upper atmosphere and have a
lifetime of around s, which suggests that as they travel to the surface of the Earth, most
would decay before reaching sea level, however experimental evidence showed the opposite
to be true. Most muons (around 80%) were still present upon reaching sea level, even though
more than 2 s had passed to an external observer. This can only be explained by time
dilation as the muons are travelling at close to the speed of light.
Time dilation also occurs in the context of accelerator collision experiments as
particles are moving are speed comparable to the speed of light. This means that their
lifetimes (as observed by a stationary observer) are longer so particles travel for longer
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than expected (when taking their usual lifetimes into account) and so can interact with more
particles.
The standard quark – lepton model
All particle can be classified as either hadrons, leptons or photons. The
differentiating property between hadrons and leptons is that leptons are fundamental
particles, meaning they cannot be broken down any further, also they do not experience the
strong nuclear force (one of the four fundamental forces). On the other hand, hadrons are
formed of quarks (quarks are fundamental particles), and hadrons experience the strong
nuclear force. Whereas photons are the fundamental particles which make up light.
Hadrons can be further separated into baryons, antibaryons and mesons. Baryons are
formed of 3 quarks; antibaryons are formed of 3 antiquarks while mesons are formed from
a quark antiquark.
The classification of matter and antimatter is summarized below:
In the standard model there are 6 types of quarks:
• Up, down, charm, strange, top and bottom (as shown below)
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The top quark was predicted by the symmetry of the standard model, which implied
that there existed a particle which had yet to be observed. Due to the symmetry of the
model, experiments were carried out and the top quark was finally discovered.
Particles and antiparticles.
For every type of particle there is an antiparticle which has the same rest energy
and mass but all its other properties are the opposite to the particle’s. For example, the
position is the antiparticle of the electron, and an electron antineutrino is the antiparticle of
neutrino: this is how their properties compare:
Determining whether particle interactions are possible.
A particle interaction is only possible if all conversation laws are obeyed. Along with
the conversation of energy and momentum, the following properties must be conserved in a
particle interaction:
• Charge
• Baryon number – this shows whether a particle is a baryon (its baryon number is 1),
antibaryon (-1) or not a baryon (0)
• Lepton number – this shows whether it is a lepton (lepton number is 1), antilepton (-1)
or not a lepton (0).
To show that these properties are obeyed in an interaction, you must find the value of
each property before and after the interaction and make sure they are equal.
As an example, consider this particle interaction,
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All the above conservation laws are obeyed therefore this interaction this interaction is
possible.
Particle Equations.
You must be able to write and interpret particle equations given the relevant particle
symbols. For example, the following equation shows the alpha decay of uranium (U) into
thorium (Th) and an alpha particle ();
You can check whether the interaction above is possible by considering the charge,
baryon number and lepton number before and after the interaction.
As the conservation laws are obeyed, this interaction is possible.
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