Nuclear radiation

Fundamental forces

1. GRAVITY- WEAKEST OPERATES IN

ASTRONOMICAL DISTANCES

2. ELECTROMAGNETISM- MAKES CHEMISTRY

HAPPENS AND OPERATES ON THE SCALE OF
ATOMS AND MOLECULES
 Fundamental forces

3. STRONG NUCLEAR FORCE- HOLDS PROTONS

AND NEUTRONS TOGETHER

4. WEAK NUCLEAR FORCE- FACILITATES NUCLEAR

DECAY (NUCLEUS OF AN ATOM CHANGES IN
SOME WAY)
IN CHEMISTRY (TRANSMUTATION OF
NUCLEAR PROCESSES ELEMENTS
 NUCLEAR PROCESSES

CHEMICAL REACTION- ONLY THE VALENCE

ELECTRON ARE REARRANGING WHEN CHEMICAL
BONDS BREAK AND FORM
 NUCLEAR PROCESSES
NUCLEAR REACTION- CHANGES OCCUR TO
THE FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES IN THE
NUCLEUS OF AN INDIVIDUAL ATOM WHICH
MEANS IT WILL CHANGE FROM ONE
ELEMENT TO ANOTHER
Nuclear decays where
something in the nucleus
disintegrates giving off
some form of radiation in
the process
 Radioactivity
He noticed that
photographic plates
had bright spots when
they were exposed to
uranium minerals

THIS RADIATION WAS FOUND TO BE COMPOSED OF

THREE TYPES WHEN EXPOSED TO A MAGNETIC FIELD
SINCE THEY WERE DEFLECTED IN DIFFERENT
MANNERS.
Radioactivity

(AT THAT TIME WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SUB

ATOMIC PARTICLES THE RADIATION WAS
COMPROMISED OF
Alpha particle is essentially a helium
nucleus, two protons and neutrons

Emitting an alpha particle will

result in transmutation.
 Beta particle is an electron.

Positron is the anti-matter particle of the

electron which has the same mass as the
electron but a positive charge

A gamma particle is a photon of light, this

is the same as the electromagnetic
radiation from the Bohr model
In writing nuclide symbol

Lower # is the atomic number (# of

protons)

Upper # is the atomic mass (protons +

neutrons)
Representations
Why do these processes occur?
 Instability

The nucleus is too large, the strong

nuclear force is mediated by particles
called Mesons is very strong and it
keeps the protons and neutrons fused
together with a hundred times than
the electromagnetic repulsion that
pushes the protons apart.
 Instability

For atoms that are large (bismuth),

nucleus is just too big to be stable.
Nuclei like this will often rapidly emit
an alpha particle to try to get a little
smaller and a little more stable.
 Instability

But even if the nucleus isn’t too large

it may have a number of protons or
neutrons that isn’t ideal. The shell
model of the nucleus describes
nucleons
Instability

The shell model of the nucleus

describes nucleons as existing in
levels or shells kind of the way
electrons do.
Magic numbers for each nucleons
that corresponds to a special type
of stability kind of like a full valence
shell of electrons.
If the nucleus is too large
If the nucleus is too large

Undergo
spontaneous fission
where it breaks into
multiple lighter
nuclei and usually a
few neutrons.
 In beta emission , the reason an electron is emitted is
because a neutron spontaneously transforms into a
proton.
Protons and neutrons both weigh one atomic mass
unit even though technically neutron is slightly
heavier, it is heavier exactly the mass of an electron
which is why a neutron is neutral, it’s a proton and
electron combined. So when the neutron becomes
a proton it will emit an electron in the process.
 Decay

In positron emission , when a proton becomes a

neutron, this will emit a positron because this is the
process that is the opposite of beta emission.
 Decay

In electron capture , when a proton becomes a

neutron by absorbing an electron rather than
emitting a positron.
 Decay

If the nucleus is in the excited stage it

can emit a high-energy gamma
photon.
In this process there is no
transmutation because we don’t
change around any protons or
neutrons so we can predict what kind
of nuclear decay a nucleus might
undergo by looking at its condition.
 An unstable atom can undergo a
radioactive decay series, over multiple
emissions generates a stable nucleus like
Uranium 238 which eventually becomes
Lead 206.

Radiation is unstable nuclei emitting high

energy particles.
 The reason this is bad for
biological organisms is that
these high-energy particles can
tear through our cells and if
one strikes a DNA molecule it
can potentially change the
genetic code resulting to a
potential harmful mutation.
 Most elements have naturally occurring isotopes that
do decay over period of time, so there are radioactive
nuclei decaying all over your body every second.
Luckily, we have enzymes that repair DNA damage as
it happens. But if we were to be in the presence of a
highly radioactive substance that is emitting particles
at high frequency, this would do much more damage
than our body can repair.
Detecting radiation like Geiger Counter.

Half-life- this is the time it takes for a

material to be depleted to half the
original amount. After two half lives
there would be ¼ the original
amount. After three half-lives 1/8
 HALF-LIFE

k = constant specific to the material

 APPLICATION

By learning about nuclear processes we can harness

the massive energy they contained. With nuclear
processes matter converted directly into energy.

Matter is extremely
dense energy, the
densest form there is.
 APPLICATION

We have harnessed this power

already with atomic bombs.
These worked by bombarding unstable
uranium nuclei with neutrons which
caused them to split.
Generating more neutrons which collide
with other uranium nuclei causing a
chain reaction that releases tremendous
energy
 APPLICATION

An even more powerful process is

nuclear fusion. This is where small nuclei
combine to give larger ones.
A process which involves a loss of mass
which is converted into even more
energy than a fission reaction.
 APPLICATION

Nuclear reactors that harness the

power of fusion promise to solve all
kinds of problems regarding
renewable energy sources and
could be the key to societal
advancement
An alpha particle reacts with
magnesium-25 to produce a
proton and another nuclide. What
is the other nuclide?