A Look at Nuclear Science and Technology

Larry Foulke

2.1 Atomic and Nuclear Physics The Einstein Connection Getting to know the atom

The Einstein Connection

E=mc2

Image Source: See Note 1

The Atom

Image Source: See Note 2

The Atom
! Electrons
! Negatively charged, light-weight particles that orbit the nucleus. ! Involved in forming chemical bonds with other atoms

! Protons
! Positively charged, heavy particles in the atomic nucleus. ! Number of protons determines the element and all physical properties of atom.

! Neutrons
! Charge-less, heavy particles in atomic nucleus ! Neutrons stabilize the nucleus. To few or too many neutrons will make a nucleus unstable.

The Atom
! Atoms are identified by ! Atomic Number (Z): Number of protons in the nucleus. Determines what element the atom is. ! Atomic Mass (A): Total weight of the atom, equal to number of protons + number of neutrons. (A=Z+N) ! Notation Atomic Mass

Examples
# " !!
Element (or Chemical) Symbol ! ! !
1 H 1 4 He 2 235 U 92

Atomic Number (optional)

Isotopes
! Nuclide A type of atom characterized by the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of every atom of this type. ! Isotopes Atoms with the same number of protons (same element) but containing different numbers of neutrons.
!Nuclides with same atomic number but different atomic masses.

232 92

Isotopes
U
233 92

Uranium ! 232 Uranium ! 233 Uranium ! 234

U
234 92

U
235 92

U
236 92

Uranium ! 235 U
237 92

Uranium ! 236 U
238 92

Uranium ! 237 U Uranium ! 238

Isotopes
1 1

H
2 1

Hydrogen H or D
3 1 2 1

Deuterium Tritium

H or T

3 1

Mass and Energy Units

! Mass -- Atomic Mass Unit (amu)
1 amu = 1/12 mass of Carbon-12 atom = 1.660565 x 10-27 kg Proton Neutron = 1.007276 amu = 1.008665 amu Electron = 0.000549 amu

! Energy -- Electron Volt (eV)

1 eV = 1 electron charge x 1 volt = 1.60219 x 10- 19 Joules 1 keV 1 MeV = 1,000 eV = 1,000,000 eV

The Nucleus
4He

! Nucleus ! Protons & Neutrons tightly packed together into a (roughly) spherical shape.

1.98 fm = 1.98!10-15 m

! How Tightly Packed?

! dnucleus / datom = 6.4!10-5 ! Vnucleus / Vatom = 2.6!10-13 = 0.000000000026%
Image Source: See Note 3

31 pm =

31!10-12

Nucleus Size Comparisons

! If atomic volume is the size of a medium classroom:
! 30 !30 !10 = 9000 cu. ft.

! The nucleus would be the same size as an a grain of sand

! ~8 mils = ~0.2 mm

Atomic Diameter = 100 m Nuclear Diameter = 6.4 mm

Image Sources: See Notes 4 and 5
11

Image Source Notes

1.! 2.! 3.! 4.! 5.! Public domain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Einsteinformal_portrait-35.jpg Creative Commons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atom_diagram.png Creative Commons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Helium_atom_QM.svg GNU license: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AmFBfield.svg Creative Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ballpoint-penparts.jpg