Nuclear Physics
• An atom consists of a positively charged nucleus and negatively
charged electrons orbiting around the nucleus.
• The nucleus is the central core of the atom where all of its positive
charge and most of its mass is concentrated.
• The primary constituents of nuclei are the proton and neutron.
• The size of the nucleus is only about 1/ 10000 of the size of the atom
• an atomic nucleus is represented
by the symbol
• ZAX
• The number of neutrons
• N = A-Z
• Each nuclear species with a given Z and A is called a nuclide.
• A particle inside the nucleus i. e. protons or neutrons are called
nucleons
• Atoms with the same Z, but different A, are called isotopes. For
example, deuterium (A = 2) and tritium (A = 3) are both isotopes of
regular hydrogen (A = 1 ).
• The chemical properties of an atom are determined by its electron
configuration. Because the numbers of electrons and protons are
equal in a neutral atom, the chemical properties are essentially
determined by Z.
• Nuclides with the same value of A are called isobars (for example, 166C,
16 N, 16 O).
7 8
• Nuclides with the same neutron number are called isotones (for
example, 146C, 157N, 168O . (N=8)
• Two nuclides are called mirror nuclei if they have equal mass numbers
A, and if the number of protons Z in one of them is equal to the
number of neutrons N in the other. Eg. 157N, 158O
Atomic Masses
• Atomic masses are measured in atomic mass units, which are
denoted by the symbol u defined as 1/12 th of the mass of a 12 C
atom
• The energy equivalent of a atomic mass unit is 931.49 MeV.
SOME NUCLEAR PROPERTIES - Sizes and
Shapes of Nuclei
• To a good approximation, nuclei are spheres.
• The nuclear radius R may be approximated as
• Because the nucleus is so small, we use the unit femtometer,
abbreviated fm
• with 1 fm 10-15 m.
• An alternative term for 10-15 m is fermi i. e. r0 = 1.2 fm = 1.2 fermi
Nuclear Density
• If we approximate the nuclear shape as a sphere,
• The volume of the nucleus is proportional to A.
• The mass of the nucleus is A in atomic mass unit.
• So density = mass/volume = constant =
• This density is very large
• The nucleus is about 1014 times denser than ordinary matter
Spin
• Protons and neutrons, like electrons, are particles with spin quantum
numbers of s = 1/2
• They have spin angular momenta S of magnitude
• and spin magnetic quantum numbers of ms = +1/2 or -1/2
Magnetic Moment
• Magnetic moments are associated with the spins of protons and
neutrons.
• In nuclear physics, magnetic moments are expressed in nuclear
magnetons
• where mp is the proton mass
• The spin magnetic moments of the proton and neutron are
• The proton’s magnetic moment points in the same direction as its
spin angular momentum
• The neutron’s magnetic moment points in the opposite direction as
its spin angular momentum
STABLE NUCLEI
• Stable light nuclei (A 20) contain approximately equal numbers of
neutrons and protons
• In heavier nuclei the proportion of neutrons becomes progressively
greater
• Protons are positively charged and repel one another
• In heavier nuclei, an excess of neutrons, which produce only
attractive forces, is required for stability
BINDING ENERGY
• The actual mass of a nucleus is less than the sum of the masses of its
constituent protons and neutrons.
• The energy corresponding to this mass difference (E = mc2) is called
binding energy (BE)
• BE is a measure of the stability of the nucleus
• Binding energy per nucleon = BE/No. of particles inside the nucleus
• The greater the BE per nucleon, the more stable is the nucleus
• mass difference
= mass of Z protons + mass of N neutrons - mass of the nucleus
• masses are measured in amu
• 1 amu = 931.49 MeV of energy
• BE
• For lighter nuclei, BE per nucleon increases with mass number
• It becomes maximum (8.8 MeV/nucleon) when the total number of
nucleons is 56 (iron)
• Iron-56 is the most stable nucleus
• Beyond A=56, BE per nucleon decreases with mass number
• Many of the less stable heavier nuclei decay into more stable nuclei
• When two light nuclei are combined together to give a single nucleus
of larger size, the binding energy per nucleon increases.
• This leads to the production of a more stable nucleus and the excess
energy is released during the process
• For Eg, if two 2H deuterium nuclei combine to form a 4He helium
nucleus, over 23 MeV is released.
• This process is called nuclear fusion
• If a heavy nucleus is split into two medium-sized ones, each of the
new nuclei will have more binding energy per nucleon than the
original nucleus.
• This leads to the production of more stable nuclei and the excess
energy is released during the process
• For instance, if the uranium nucleus 235 U is broken into two smaller
nuclei, the binding energy difference per nucleon is about 0.8 MeV.
• The total energy given off is 188 MeV
• This process is called nuclear fission
Packing fraction
• Packing fraction also is a measure of the stability of the nucleus
• Packing fraction
= (Actual mass of the nucleus - mass number)/mass number
• Nuclei with negative values of Packing fraction are more stable
Nuclear forces
• The attractive force between nucleons in the nucleus is called strong
nuclear force
• It is the strongest of all forces
• The nuclear force is much stronger than the electromagnetic force
• Therefore, the strong nuclear attractive force between protons is
greater than the electrostatic repulsive force between them
Nuclear forces - properties
• It is the strongest of all forces
• It is a very short range force (range ~ 10 -15 m) i. e. this force exists
only inside the nucleus
• It is always attractive
• The force between any two nucleons (i. e. between p-p, n-n or p-n)
are almost equal
• These forces are charge independent
• These forces are spin dependent - i. e. the force depends on the
relative alignment of the spin angular momentum (depending on
whether spin is parallel or anti parallel)
Meson theory of nuclear forces
• According to the meson theory, the nuclear forces between
protons and neutrons is due to the exchange of particles called
pi mesons or pions between them
• There are three pi mesons π+ of charge +e, π- of charge -e
and π0 (neutral)
• The mass of charged pions is 273 me and that of neutral pions is
264 me
• The pions exchanged between nucleons are called virtual pions.
• Nucleons exchange (emit and absorb) virtual pions between them
• The lifetime of a pion (time between emission and absorption) is very
small
• A particle can be detected only if its lifetime exceeds the minimum life
time required by the uncertainty principle
• Therefore virtual pions cannot be detected moving inside the nucleus
• However, free pions can be detected
