Basic Nuclear Physics

Basic Atomic Structure

Day 1- Lecture 1
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 Objective

• To discuss about the structure of the atom

including the Neutron, Proton and
Electron
• To learn about the Atomic Number,
Atomic Mass, nuclear stability and
radioactive or unstable nuclei

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 Contents

• Atom
• Nucleus
• Electron Binding Energy
• Periodic Table of the Elements
• Isotopes
• Nuclear Stability

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 Atom

The atom is
composed of:
 positively charged
(+) protons,

 uncharged neutrons
and

 negatively charged
(-) electrons

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 Atom

Thomson’s Model Rutherford’s Model

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 Atom

Bohr’s Model

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 Nucleus

Protons and neutrons together

form the nucleus of the atom.

The nucleus determines the

identity of the element and its
atomic mass.
Proton and neutrons have essentially the same mass but
only the proton is charged while the neutron has no
charge.

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 Protons

Protons are positively charged

particles found inside the nucleus
of an atom. Each element has a
unique atomic number (a unique
number of protons).

Proton number never changes for any given element. For

example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8 indicating
that oxygen always has 8 protons.

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 Neutrons

Neutrons are the other particle

found in the nucleus of an atom.
Unlike protons and electrons,
however, neutrons carry no
electrical charge and are thus
"neutral."
Atoms of a given element do not always contain the same
number of neutrons.

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 Electrons

Electrons are negatively charged

particles that surround the nucleus
in “orbits” similar to moons orbiting
a planet.

The sharing or exchange of electrons between atoms

forms chemical bonds which is how new molecules and
compounds are formed.

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 ELECTRON BINDING ENERGY

• Electrons exist in discrete “shells” around the

nucleus (similar to planets around the sun)
• Each shell represents a unique binding energy
holding the electron to the nucleus
• The shells are designated by letters (K, L, M,
N …) where K, the shell closest to the nucleus,
has the largest binding energy, so the K
electron is the most tightly bound
• Maximum number of electrons in each shell: 2
in K shell, 8 in L shell …
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 Summary of the Atom

Particle Symbol Mass (kg) Energy (MeV) Charge

Proton p 1.672E-27 938.2 +1
Neutron n 1.675E-27 939.2 0
Electron e 0.911E-30 0.511 -1

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 Atomic Mass Unit (amu)

Where 1 amu is
approximately equal to
1.6605 x 10-24 grams

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 Atomic Mass Unit (amu)

The atomic mass of the proton and the neutron is

approximately:

Proton = 1.6726 x 10-24 grams = 1.0073 amu

Neutron = 1.6749 x 10-24 grams = 1.0087 amu

Thus, the neutron is just a little heavier than the

proton.

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 Atomic Mass Unit (amu)

The difference in the mass of the neutron and the

proton can be understood if we assume that the
neutron is merely a proton combined with an
electron forming a neutral particle slightly more
massive than a proton alone.

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 Atomic Mass Unit (amu)

The atomic mass of the electron is approximately:

Electron = 9.1094 x 10-28 grams = 0.00055 amu

Thus, the electron has a much smaller mass than

either the proton or the neutron, 1837 times
smaller or about 2000 times smaller.

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 Elements

The number of protons in an atom dictate the

element.

For an uncharged atom, the number of

IAEA electrons equals the number of protons.
 10 Most Abundant Elements

Element Symbol Protons Relative % of Earth’s Mass

Oxygen O 8 46.6
Silicon Si 14 27.7
Aluminum Al 13 8.1
Iron Fe 26 5.0
Calcium Ca 20 3.6
Sodium Na 11 2.8
Potassium K 19 2.6
Magnesium Mg 12 2.1
Titanium Ti 22 0.4
Hydrogen H 1 0.1

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 Periodic Table of the Elements

In 1869, Russian chemist Dmitri

Mendeleev first described an
arrangement of the chemical
elements now known as the
periodic table.

The periodic table displays all

chemical elements systematically
in order of increasing atomic
number (the number of protons in
the nucleus).

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 Periodic Table of the Elements

Lanthanide Series
Rare Earth
Elements

IAEA Actinide Series 20

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 Sample Element - Zirconium

Electron Shell Configuration:

40
Zr
Zirconium K 1s-2 2
91.2 L 2s-2 2p-6 8
M 3s-2 3p-6 3d-10 18
N 4s-2 4p-6 4d- 2 10
O 5s-2 2

10 + 18 + 12 = 40
K
L
M
N
O
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 Sample Element - Zirconium

Name: Zirconium
Symbol: Zr
Atomic Number: 40
Atomic Mass: 91.224 amu
Melting Point: 1852.0 °C
Boiling Point: 4377.0 °C
No. of Protons/Electrons: 40
No. of Neutrons: 51
Classification: Transition Metal
Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
Density @ 293 K: 6.49 g/cm3
Color: Grayish
IAEA Date of Discovery: 1789 23
Discoverer: Martin Klaproth
 Isotopes

Atoms of an element
that have a different
number of neutrons
in the nucleus are
called isotopes of
each other.

isotope notation Xy = element symbol

typically written as: A Xy A = atomic mass (neutron + protons)
Z
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 Isotopes

The number of
protons and
electrons remain
the same.

But the number of

neutrons varies.

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 Isotopes

equal number of protons and neutrons

There are many

isotopes. Most have
more neutrons than
protons. Some are
stable but most are
unstable
(radioactive).

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 Nuclear Stability
• A stable or non-radioactive nuclide is one
whose atoms do not decay

• If one plots the stable nuclei, an interesting

pattern emerges (shown in next slide)

• The graph in the next slide shows a plot of

neutron number N vs atomic number Z for
the stable nuclei
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 The Line of Stability

N>Z

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 Nuclear Stability

 For the heaviest stable nuclei, N is about

1.5 times Z

 The presence of the extra neutrons

overcomes the positively charged protons’
tendency to repel each other and disrupt
the nucleus

 The nucleus is held together by a poorly

understood force, the Nuclear Force
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 Nuclear Stability

The nuclear force is an extremely short-

range force

It acts over a maximum distance of about

two proton diameters

The nuclear force is responsible for the

binding energy that holds the nucleus
together
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 Unstable Nuclei
 Nuclei which do not fall on the line of stability
tend to be unstable or “radioactive”

 They are called “radionuclides”

 A few radionuclides do fall on the line of

stability but their rate of decay is so slow that
for all practical purposes they are stable

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 Unstable Nuclei

 Radionuclides undergo a process called

radioactive transformation or disintegration

 In this process, the nucleus emits particles to

adjust its neutron (N) to proton (Z) ratio

 This change in the N to Z ratio tends to move

the radionuclide toward the line of stability

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 Some Common Radionuclides

Naturally occurring 235U and 238U

60Co, 137Cs, 90Sr found in nuclear power
plants
192Ir used in radiography
99mTc used in nuclear medicine
131I used in treatment of thyroid conditions

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 Summary

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 Thanks

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