Elementary Particle Physics

Aftab Saad Sohail

aftab.sohail@nixorcollege.edu.pk
Advance Subsidiary Physics
Nixor College
Mobile: 03333266099

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Things to learn

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Things to learn (cont.)

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G-M alpha particle scattering Experiment
Spherical cloud of
• Plum Pudding model (earlier model) suggested positive charge
that atom is a sphere of positive charge with
Electrons
negatively charged electrons dotted around
inside, rather like plums in a pudding
• Rutherford designed an experiment to test the
Plum Pudding model
Plum Pudding
• It was carried out by his assistants Geiger and Model
Marsden
The Setup of the Experiment

Some 𝛼 particles Most particles

are scattered pass straight
through foil
Source of Beam of 𝛼
𝛼 particles particles

Screen to detect Thin metal foil

scattered 𝛼 particles

A beam of alpha particles was aimed at very thin gold foil and their passage
through the foil was detected
Results of the Experiment
Expected Results Actual Results

• Most of the alpha particles passed right to

the metal foil without changing directions
• The scientists expected the alpha particles to
• Some of them deflected at different angles
pass straight through the foil
fairly and few were reflected back along
their path
Conclusion of the Experiment

• Most of the space inside the atom is empty, as most 𝜶-

particles passed through the gold foil without getting
deflected

• An atom must have a positively charged center that contains

most of its mass, which Rutherford termed as the nucleus
 Structure of Atom
electron nucleus
• All substances are made from atoms
• Every atom is made up of a nucleus (positively charged)
surrounded by electrons (negatively charged)
• The nucleus is very small compared to the atom as a
whole; the entire mass of the atom is contained in the
nucleus
• Electrons have such small mass that it is usually taken as
zero energy
levels
• Electrons are arranged in energy levels around the The structure of
nucleus the Atom
 Nucleus
• A nucleus is the core of an atom
• It consists of particles called protons and nucleus
neutrons
• These particles are known as nucleons
electron
as they are found in the nucleus and
each has almost the same mass proton

• The nucleus contains 99.95% of the neutron

atom’s mass but only a tenth-billionth
part of its volume
• Practically all the mass of an atom is the
mass of its nucleus
Comparing the charge and mass of electrons,
protons and neutrons

Proton Neutron Electron

Charge +1 0 -1
Mass 1u 1u u/2000 (almost zero)
u refers to the unified atomic mass unit; value is 1.66 × 10−27 kg
Proton Number and Nucleon Number
• The proton (or atomic) number (Z) is the number of protons present in the nucleus of the
atom
• The atom is electrically neutral; implies the atom has the same number of electrons as its
number of protons
• The nucleon (or mass) number (A) is the number of nucleons (sum of protons and neutrons)
present in the nucleus of the atom
• Since the mass of an atom is concentrated at its nucleus, the nucleon (or mass) number is
thus an approximate measure of the mass of the atom.
• The number of neutrons present in the nucleus of the atom (the neutron number (N)) may
be deduced by subtracting the proton number (Z) from its nucleon number (A)
Nuclides

• An atom with a particular number of protons Notation

and neutrons is called a nuclide
𝐴
𝑍𝑋
• Nuclide refers to a nucleus rather than to an
atom
• It is characterized by the number of protons,
the number of neutrons, and the energy state 𝑨=𝒁+𝑵
of the nucleus where X is the symbol
• Identical nuclei belong to one nuclide of the element
 12
6C

Isotopes
Carbon-12
Neutrons: 12-6=6
• Isotopes are different atoms of an element which Abundance: 98.9%
have the same number of protons, but a different
number of neutrons from each other 13
6C

• Mass of the isotopes of an element differs as the

number of neutrons varies Carbon-13
Neutrons: 13-6=7
• Chemical reactions only involve electrons, the Abundance: 1.1%
protons and neutrons in the nucleus take no part
in chemical reactions 14
6C
• All atoms with the same electron arrangement,
hence, same proton number, have nearly, if not Carbon-14
precisely, identical chemical properties, but with Neutrons: 14-6=8
different nuclear and physical properties Abundance: <.0001%

Isotopes of Carbon
Nuclide Notation of Isotopes
• Every element has one or more isotopes
• An element’s identity is the number of protons in it’s nucleus
𝐴 𝐴′
𝑍𝑋 𝑍𝑋

• Same proton number (Z) but different nucleon number (A and A′)
due to difference in the number of neutrons
Radioactive Decay
• Some nuclides are highly unstable and
decays (to become stable)
spontaneously, emitting subatomic
particles and electromagnetic radiation
• The nuclei are said to be radioactive,
and the emission is called radioactivity
• The emissions are invisible to the eye,
but their tracks were made visible in a
device called cloud chamber
Alpha Decay (𝜶-particles)
• 𝜶 particle contains two protons and two neutrons and hence,
carries a charge of +2e
• 𝜶 particles travel at speeds of up to 𝟏𝟎𝟕 𝒎𝒔−𝟏 (about 5% of the
speed of light in vacuum)
• 𝜶 particle emission is the least penetrating of the three types of
emission
• It can pass through very thin paper, but is unable to penetrate
thin card. Its range in air is few centimetres
• They can be deflected by electric and magnetic field
• An 𝜶 particle is identical to the nucleus of helium atom
 𝜶-particle
Radiation Generic Equation Model
Emitted

𝐴 𝐴−4
4
or 42𝐻𝑒 𝑍𝑋 ⟶ 𝑍−2𝑌 + 42He + Energy 𝜶 particles + Energy
2𝛼 Parent Daughter

Notice that nucleon number,

proton number, and mass-
energy are all conserved in
nuclear processes. Linear
Momentum is also
conserved.
Beta Decay (𝜷-particles)
• A radioactive nucleus that decays by 𝜷 decay may emit a
negative (𝜷− ) or positive (𝜷+ ) electron
• The positive electron (𝜷+ ) is also known as positron or an
antielectron (𝑒)ҧ
• There speed varies according to the energy provided (generally
60% to 95% of the speed of light in vacuum)
• Half the charge and very much less mass than 𝜶 particles, also
less efficient in producing ion pairs
• Far more penetrating power, being able to travel up to about a
metre in air. They can penetrate card and sheets of aluminium
up to a few mm thick
Beta −
(𝜷 ) Decay
Beta +
(𝜷 ) Decay
Neutrino and Antineutrino
Decay of Proton and Neutron
Gamma Decay
 Fundamental Particle Can not be broken down
further (up till now, may be
in future it will)

In 1964, Murray Gell Mann

proposed the idea that
protons and neutrons are
not the fundamental
particles but they are made
of quarks

All of these fundamental particles have their corresponding antimatter

Quarks
Hadrons
• Particles which are made up of quarks are called Hadrons
• The Hadrons in our Syllabus are protons and neutron and their
corresponding antimatter equivalent
Quark model for Hadrons
Proton and Neutron

Proton Neutron
Quark model for Antiproton and Antineutron

Antiproton Antineutron
Leptons
• Electron • Neutrino
• Antielectron (positron) • Antineutrino
Fundamental Forces
• Notes written in class
eV – a special energy unit
Electron-volt, eV, is a very special energy unit, although we have not
discussed electricity and electrons yet.
Charge of an electron = 1.6022e-19 C (one of the fundamental physical constants).
The energy required to increase the electric potential of an electron by 1
V is 1 eV = 1.6022e-19 J (J = C V).
Other units used in nuclear energy are
keV (1000 eV)
Be able to inter-convert
MeV (1e6 eV) energy quantities in various
GeV (1e9 eV) units

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