TOPIC 1: NUCLEOSYNTHESIS

The Big Bang Model

● Most prevailing model of the origin of the universe
● Describes how the universe began in rapid expansion about 13.7 billion years ago
● Offers explanation to a broad range of phenomena, including the formation of light
elements.

The Alpher-Bethe-Gamow Paper

In 1948, Ralph Alpher, Dr. Hans A. Bethe, and George Gamow published a paper entitled,
"The Origin of Chemical Elements". They described a process by which all of the elements in
the universe could have come into existence shortly after the big bang.

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN or Primordial Nucleosynthesis

It refers to the production of nuclei other than H-1(the normal, light hydrogen) shortly after
the Big Bang. It is also believed that this process is responsible for the formation of:

Hydrogen (H-1)
Deuterium (H-2, a hydrogen isotope)
Helium isotopes (He-3 and He-4)
Lithium isotope (Li-7)
Trace amounts of Beryllium (Be)

The period of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis lasted only from about 10 seconds to about 20
minutes from the beginning of the universe itself.

1 nanosecond - Hardon Epoch

1 microsecond - Lepton Epoch
1 second - Epoch of Nucleosynthesis
1 hour - Radiation Domination

The temperature in the early universe was extremely high that the fusion reaction (process
where two or more nuclei combine to form a new element) could take place.
The fusion reactions however are slightly different from the fusion reactions in the interior of the
stars.
The universe expanded and cooled to -10¹⁰ Kelvin.
- No more neutrons were formed
- The protons outnumbered the neutrons

At this temperature the nuclear chemistry changed and no more neutrons were formed. Once
they stopped being made, their ratio relative to the stable protons, started to decline.
As the universe further cooled, the protons outnumbered the neutrons.
At this lower temperature, neutrons were able to combine with protons to form the isotopes of
hydrogen and deuterium.
the deuterium nuclei, 2H, is very reactive.
For several minutes the deuterium nuclei, 2H, went through a variety of nuclear reactions
resulting to mixture of isotopes: ³He, He, 7Li, along with the primordial ¹H, and 2H.

After the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

The expanding universe had been an optically opaque plasma of photons, free electrons, and
H, He, He, and Li nuclei.
But when the temperature fell, the electrons were able to combine with the atomic nuclei to form
neutral atoms and the universe became optically clear.

Electrons + atomic nuclei = neutral atom

Stellar Nucleosynthesis
What eventually happens to stars depend on their masses.
- A low-mass star ends up as white dwarf
- A high-mass star ends up either as a neutron star (after supernova explosion) or a
blackhole
- A star is formed when a cloud of gas and dust collapse to the point where the material in
the center of the clump is so dense and hot that nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei and
helium nuclei occurs.
- The outflow of energy released by these reactions provide the pressure necessary to
halt and collapse. The pressure and gravity are in 'hydrostatic equilibrium.

Life Cycle of a Star

Stars have a life cycle and evolve over time. The mass of the star controls its evolution and life
span. The sun is an example of an average size star.

1. Stars begin as a nebula (cloud of gas and dust) that starts to contract due to gravity.
2. Protostar: temperature increases, millions of years later the gas becomes plasma and
fusion begins.
3. Main sequence star: (the longest stage in the life of a star) nuclear fusion (hydrogen
fuses into helium) continues in the core of the star...our Sun is a main sequence star.

Take Note:
● Stars more massive than our Sun may be main sequence stars for only 10 million years.
● Stars less massive than our Sun may be main sequence stars for 100's of billions of
years.
● The larger the star the shorter the life span, the smaller the star the longer the life span
A comparison of Star Sizes:
● Red Dwarf - Lower Limit: 0.08 solar masses
● Our Sun - 1 solar mass
● Red Giant - Very old stars that evolve from stars of <5 solar masses
● Blue-white supergiant - 150 solar masses
A star starts to die when hydrogen runs low:

4. Giant: A star cools as it expands and starts to glow red. Giants can be more than 10 times
larger than the sun.
5. White dwarf: outer layers escape into space, the star collapses into a dense hot, dim star
smaller than Earth.

Massive stars die explosively!!

- Supergiant: Massive stars become larger than giants as they leave the main
sequence....they can be 100 to 1,000 times larger than the sun.

- Supernova: the explosion of a supergiant

● Neutron Star: a small dense ball of neutrons that spin after a supernova explosion
● Black Hole: the remnants of a supernova that are contracted even more than a neutron
star... it is so dense light cannot escape from it.

Stellar Nucleosynthesis

It begins with Proton- Proton Chain where hydrogen is converted to hélium.

This is a dominant process in stars that have similar mass as the sun.

Because of the increase in the temperature inside the star, several nuclear fusion process will
occur. The following are the nuclear fusion process happens:

1. Triple Alpha Process - three helium-4 nuclei or alpha- particles, fuse to form a carbon
nucleus. As soon as carbon is present, the alpha process begins where the formation of
neon, oxygen, and silicon takes place.
2. CNO Cycle - It is the process where C12 is used as a catalyst that facilitate the
production of He4.

If the star is massive (>8x Solar masses), another set of nuclear fusion reaction begins.
These include the burning of carbon, neon, oxygen and silicon, which lead to the formation of
heavier elements until it finally produces iron.
Stars evolve so that they have "onion skin like" shells of the nuclear combustion with differing
nuclear chemistry.
After the star consumes its "fuel" for a certain stage, it consumes its next fuel to continue its
burning process and sustains its life.

Summary
● Big bang nucleosynthesis refers to the production of nuclei other than H-1 (the normal,
light hydrogen) shortly after the Big Bang. It is also believed that this process is
responsible for the formation of light elements.
● Stellar nucleosynthesis refers to the formation of elements inside the star.
Topic 2: How Elements Heavier Than Iron are Formed

Stellar Evolution
- New heavier elements are created from the nuclear fusion of lighter elements. In the
case of the lifetime of stars, the lighter elements proceed to fusion until those elements -
the star's "fuel" - have been exhausted.

The formation of iron core signals the end of a massive star's life.
Iron cannot burn and releases energy since it is the most tightly bound of all nuclei. As a result,
attempting to fuse additional

Core Collapse of Massive Stars

With the star's core pressure suddenly dropping, nothing remains to support the star and so
its interior begins to collapse.
The force of gravity, meanwhile is immense that it crushes the core.

The stars outer layers also contribute to the core's immune crushing.
As an effect, the infalling gas is heated to billion degrees.
With the pressure surging, it lifts the outer layers away from the star through a titanic explosion -
supernova

Supernova capture and Further Nucleosynthesis

- A supernova is the explosion of a star. It is the largest explosion that takes place in the
space. It happens where there is a change in the core, center of a star.
- Elements through iron are created throughout the Stellar Evolution.
- This synthesis of new elements are achieved through the neutron capture, either through
the S - process or R - process.

A Brief Background of Neutron Capture

- Neutron capture is a nuclear reaction by which an atomic nucleus and neutrons collide to
form heavier nucleus.
- Since the neutrons have a neutral charge, there is high probability of neutrons being
captured by an atomic nucleus, unlike protons which are electrostatically repelled.
- By transforming the neutron captured by a nucleus to a proton, a new elements is
determined.
Beta-Minus decay: Neutron to Proton Transformation
- The number of protons determines the identity of an element.
- Thus, an atomic nucleus with neutrons that are captured must "transform" these
neutrons into protons to become new elements.
- The neutron to proton process undergoes a beta- minus decay, with ẞ being that a
neutron is lost and a proton appears (on the other hand, ẞ+ means that a neutron
appears while a proton is lost).
- In this process, the neutron naturally decays into a proton once the product nucleus
becomes unstable in the neutron capture process.
- Combining the Beta-Minus Decay into Neutron Capture, the sequence is complete in
synthesizing new elements.
- Both the s-process and r- process undergoes the sequence.
- What varies between the two is the rate of neutron capture coupled with beta-minus
decay and the sites where these processes occur.

Nucleosynthesis using S- Process

- The S-Process works by "Slow Neutron Capture" to synthesize heavier elements.
- S-Process does not really occur in supernovae events, but in evolving low- to
medium-sized stars. However, it is worth noting that the "seed" for the S-Process is iron.
- In the slow neutron capture, neutrons are added at a rate that whenever an unstable
nucleus is formed, it beta- decays before another neutron can be added.
- After the s-process, beta- minus decay occurs to transform neutron into proton.
- The R-Process works by "Rapid Neutron Capture" to synthesize heavier elements.
- This process mostly occur in supernovae events due to the rapid process that the time
scale would be too short.
- R-process also occur on neutron star mergers, but scientists are still studying the
phenomenon.
- In rapid neutron capture, neutrons are added rapidly that the unstable nuclei formed
cannot decay before additional neutrons are added until a nucleus is eventually
produced that will not accept a further neutron. This nucleus, however, will eventually be
subject to beta decay, thus permitting further neutron capture.

Radioactive and Stable Nuclei

 - Some isotopes are radioactive, whereas other are stable. There are about 300 naturally
occurring isotopes, 264 are stable which means nuclei of the isotopes never give off any
radioactivity. And the others, are radioactive isotopes - giving off radioactivity.

Isotopes in which the number of proton and neutron are balanced seem to be stable. In lighter
elements this balance occurs, when proton and neutron are equal.
Ex: binom 12 6 C = 6 protons/ 6 neutrons
Ex: ^ 16 8 0 = 8 protons/8 neutrons
But in heavier elements, stability requires more neutron than proton.
Ex: 20682 Pb = 82 protons/124 neutrons

Types of Radioactivity
1. Alpha Emission
- For heavy elements, the loss of alpha particles is an important stabilization process. For
example, Uranium - 238 nucleus decays to produces Thorium - 234 and a Helium -
nucleus. 238^92U 234^90 Th +4 +4₂He

2. Beta Minus Emission

- The second type of radioactive emission is beta particle emission. A beta particle is a
fast moving electron.
- The symbol le is used, note that the isotopic mass for the electron is used to be -1, zero
because it is much less than that of a proton or neutron.

3. Gamma Ray Emission

- Some nuclei are pure gamma emitters, but these are rare. Gamma emission often
accompanies alpha and beta emissions. A gamma ray is proton of light.
- No transmutation takes place, Boron is still Boron, but the nucleus is in a lower energy
(more stable) state after the emission of excess energy in the form of gamma rays.

4. Beta plus Emission

- A positron is a particle that has the same mass as an electron, but a charge of +1 rather
than -1. Its symbol is º. 0

5. Electron Capture
- An extra nuclear electron is captured by the nucleus and there reacts with a proton to
form a neutron, that reduces the atomic number of an element by one but the mass
number is unchanged. The electron involved in electron captured came from the atom`s
own electron clouds.

6. Neutron Capture
- It can be fast as a fraction of a second or as slow as a few million of years. This process
occurs as a seed nucleus captures neutrons, forming heavier isotope of the element can
be either stable or radioactive. Stable isotopes can continue to capture neutrons and
 form other heavier isotopes of the seed nuclei. Unstable or radioactive isotopes however,
will undergo beta decay, producing isotope of a new element.
- Neutron Capture can either be slow or rapid.
- Slow neutron capture or s - process happens when there is a small number of
neutrons. It is term slow compared to the rate of beta decay. Therefore, if a beta decay
occurs, it is almost always occurs before another neutron can be captured.
- Rapid neutron capture or r-process happens when there is large number of neutrons.
It is term rapid process because the rate of neutron capture is fast that an unstable
nucleus may still combined with another neutron just before it goes beta decay. The r-
process is associated with supernova.

Summary
● With the star's core pressure suddenly dropping, nothing remains to support the star and
so its interior begins to collapse.
● The force of gravity, meanwhile is immense that it crushes the core.
● A supernova is the explosion of a star. It is the largest explosion that takes place in the
space. It happens where there is a change in the core, center of a star.
● Neutron capture is a nuclear reaction by which an atomic nucleus and neutrons collide to
form heavier nucleus.
● The neutron to proton transformation undergoes beta minus decay being a neutron lost
and a proton appears.
LESSON 3: IDEAS OF THE ATOM

All matter - whether in form of water, carbon, air or minerals - consists of atoms, which are in
turn made up of simple particles. This fact taken human being thousands of years to understand
and the present journey through that history.

Ideas of the Ancient Greeks on the Atom

The development of the atomic model of matters started from the early Greek concept of the
atom. Greek philosophers and thinkers were the first to describe matter and to wonder whether
matter can be divided infinitely into smaller pieces or if there was a limit to the number of times a
piece of matter could be divided.

1. Thales of Miletus (640 - 546 BC)

- According to Thales, in both the synthesis during life and the decomposition after
death, water was the primary component of all matter.
2. Anaximenes (526 BC)
- For Anaximenes, air was the primary component of all life and physical stuff.
3. Heraclitus (535-475 BC)
- Heraclitus seems to follow the pattern of explanation from Thales` water and
Anaximenes` air when he refers to the world as "ever living fire" and make
statement such as "Thunderbolt steers all things." alluding the directive power of
fire.
4. Pythagoras of Samos (582-507 BC)
- Together with his followers, deserted the concept of a single, primary element for
all matte and suggested that all matter is a combination of the four elements.
5. Empedocles (450 BC)
- He adopted the idea of Pythagoras and developed a theory that all matter in the
universe was composed of various combinations and proportions of four
elementary substances. Metals, for example, were considered to be composed of
earth and fire, since they could be produced by placing ores (earth) in a flame.
He also believed that the shinier the metal, the more fire it contained.
6. Aristotle (384-322 BC)
- He also supported the Pythagorean view and added four elements - and
therefore all of matter - are infinitely divisible. In addition, he explained the
concept of gravity by assuming that the four elements had a natural home to
return when free to do so.
7. Leucippus of Miletus (500-420 BC)
 -He first believed that all matter – including four elements - was composed of
basic building: the atom. The word "atom" came from the Greek word "atomos",
which means indivisible.
8. Democritus of Abdera (460-370 BC)
- Leucippus`s idea was further developed by his student Democritus who proposed
that the atom has the following characteristics:
A. Invisible because it is extremely small
B. Indivisible because it cannot be broken down to a tinier unit.
C. Solid, spherical, not empty
D. Surrounded by an empty space
E. Eternal because atoms are seamless
F. Immeasurable number of shapes

9. Epicurus (341 BC - 270 BC)

- Supported Democritus's atomos theory, saying that belief in such theory can
actually help human beings live better lives.

Alchemy: The Dark Age of Atomism

- The theory of all matter is made up atoms was later called atomism and widely attributed
to Democritus. Because of Aristotle, however, this view did not again widely accepted in
Ancient Greece. Aristotle refuted Democritus` theory because it`s consequences were
not in line with Aristotle`s ideas of natural phenomenon. Because of Aristotle`s wide
influence, not only in philosophy but also in science, the theory of atomism was not
further explored in the next 2000 years.
- Chemistry is the science of composition of matter, its properties and characteristics, and
the changes it undergoes. It is often called the central science because it connects the
physical, life and applied sciences. But before it became an important branch of science,
it had a rather unscientific history.
- The science of chemistry strived during the Middle Ages. This was then known as
alchemy, a mixture of black magic and scientific knowledge with much superstition
Alchemist pursued a mythical philosopher`s stone that was believed to transform based
materials, such as iron, lead, into gold. They studied the classical Greek Philosophers,
especially Aristotle, who argued that all substances originated in some way from the
basic elements. Alchemists tried to find a fifth element (the quintessence) which they
believed, could control the changing of one substance into another.
- Even though their efforts and methods were unscientific, alchemists contributed much
useful tools in the study of science. Equipment, such as the test tube, the closed
crucible, and the retort, which, are still used in chemical laboratories today, were
developed by these alchemist. During the 16th century, alchemists and physicians
thought that disease must be cured by experimental use of chemicals accompanied by
observation.
Phillippus Aureolus Paracelsus
- An alchemist and physician by profession and considered as the "Father of Toxicology".
As such, alchemy also laid the foundation of medicine.

Alchemy was both an inquiry of nature and an early philosophical and spiritual discipline that
combined chemistry, metal work, physics, medicine, astrology, mysticism, spiritualism, and art.
It's three main goals were to -
1. Find the "elixir of life" which can bring wealth, power and immortality;
2. Find the so called “philosopher`s stone" which can turn base metals into gold (believed
to be the purest form of matter); and
3. Discover the cosmological relationship of humans.

Still, alchemy contributed to a lot of future uses and applications of chemicals such as
metallurgy, ink and paint production, extractions of natural products and liquors. The isolation of
zinc and phosphorus from their ores can be also attributed to alchemy.

Revival of Atomism
It was not until the early 17th century that atomism saw a revival.

1. Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655)

- A French priest, philosopher, and scholar of science and ancient texts, rejected
the view that matter is infinitely divisible. Following Epicurus, Gassendi
suggested that materials objects have substrata made up of basic, indivisible
principles. He believed that the closer the principles are put together, the harder
is the material object; whereas the more void there is between these principles,
the softer is the object.
2. Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
- An Irish physicist and chemist proposed a similar idea. Through experiments with
gases, he developed a principle of gases now known as Boyle`s Law - which
states that “at constant temperature, the volume of gas decreases as the
pressure increases. He further concluded that since gas can be compressed, it
must be composed of particles that have spaces between them. He also believed
that all matter consisted of arrangements of tiny identical particles called
corpuscles.
3. Isaac Newton (1642-1726)
- In 1704, the English physician and mathematician Isaac Newton published
Opticks in which analyzed the corpuscular nature of light. He explained that both
matter and light are made up of corpuscles.
LESSON 4: THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM

As the idea that matter is made up of atoms became widely accepted, the question shifted to
the structure of the atom. Indeed, one of the most controversial and debatable topic in the
chemistry and quantum physics has been the true nature and structure of the atom. There have
been many attempts that sought the truth behind the concept of atom starting from the early age
to the present time. Let us find out the different atomic models based on the experiments done
by the "titans" in the quantum world.

Dalton's "Billiard Ball" Model

- After the dark age of atomism, John Dalton (1766-1844), an English chemist, physicist
and meteorologist, revived and developed modern atomic theory in the early 1800s. He
suggested that all atoms of an element have the same size and weight, and that the
atoms of an element bond chemically In simple ratios to form compounds.

He came up with the following main points for his atomic theory:
1. All matter is made of indestructible atoms.
2. Atoms of the same element are identical in their physical and chemical properties.
3. Atoms of different elements have different physical and chemical properties.
4. Atoms of different elements combine in simple whole number ratios to form chemical
compounds.
5. In chemical reactions, atoms cannot be subdivided, created or destroyed. They are only
combined, separated and rearranged.
Dalton's atomic theory served as a guide for chemists and physicists.

Thomson`s Plum-Pudding Model

- In 1897, Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940), a British physicist, discovered that Dalton's
atomic model was not accurate. He proposed that atoms are uniform spheres of
positively charged matter in which negatively charged electrons are embedded.
- He further concluded that they were less massive than atoms and indistinguishable,
regardless of what gas produced them and therefore must be fundamental particle found
in all elements. Later he came up with his model which is known as the "plum pudding"
or "raisin bread" atomic model because he visualized that electrons are stuffed like
raisins in positively charged mass or "loaf of bread"
Cathode Ray Tube Experiment Plum-Pudding Model

Rutherford's Nuclear Model of the Atom

- Subsequently having made notable achievements in the study of radioactivity, the British
physicist Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) became interested in the structure of atoms
from which radioactivity radiated.
- In 1911, Rutherford and his colleagues tested Thomson`s idea by striking alpha particles
through a thin gold foil (0.000004 cm) and identified them as flashes of light or
scintillations on a screen. Most of the alpha particles went straight through the foil, but
some were deflected by small angles and hit a spot on a screen placed off to one side.
He also observed that, occasionally, an alpha particle traveled back from the foil.

Observation Interpretation

Most a particles travel The atom is mostly empty space

 through the foll
undeflected

Some α particles are deflected by small The nucleus is positively charged. as is the a
angles particle

Occasionally, an α particle travels back from The nucleus carries most of the atom's mass
the foil
Based on these observations, Rutherford's team developed a totally different idea from
Thomson`s by making the following conclusions:
- The gold atoms in the foil must be mostly empty space since most of the alpha particles
were able to penetrate the foil.
- An atom is composed of a positive, central core which he called the nucleus, where most
of its mass is concentrated.
- The electrons which are said to be negatively charged circulate around the nucleus of an
atom in a greater distance from the center.
- Rutherford also concluded that the nucleus is composed of nucleons. These nucleons
are two types: positively charged particles (proton and neutrally charged particles
(neutron)

James Chadwick and the "Neutron"

- It was James Chadwick (1891- 1974). An English physicist and Rutherford's protégé,
who discovered the neutron in 1932. By this time, scientists are sure that atoms are
made up of three kinds of sub atomic particles: proton, neutron and electron. The
charge, location, and mass of these particles have also been determined.

Location, Charge and Mass of Subatomic Particle

Subatomic particles
Particle amu mass (g) Atomic charge Electrical charge
(coulomb)

Proton (p*) 1.0073 1.673 x 10-24 +1 +1.602 x 10-19

Electron (e-) .0005486 9.109 x 10-28 -1 -1.602 x 10-19

Neutron (n) 1.0087 1.675 x 10-24 0 0

Henry Moseley (1887-1915

- An English physicist and another student of Rutherford's found out the that atoms of
each element contain a unique positive charge in their nucleus. The discovery cleared
 why atoms of other elements are different. He noted that the identity of an atom comes
from the number of protons in its nucleus.
- All atoms can be identified through the number of protons in their nucleus and the
number of electrons that move around the nucleus. In an atom, the number of protons is
equal to the |number of electrons. This is the atomic number of the atom. On the other
hand, the atomic mass is equal to the total number of protons and neutrons. The mass
number, therefore, is given by the following equation:
mass number (A) = number of proton (Z) + number of neutron
- The accepted way of denoting the atomic number and mass number of an atom of an
element is as follows:
A - Mass Number (number of proton and neutrons)
X - Element symbol
Z - Atomic Number (number of protons)

Bohr`s Planetary Model of the Atom

- In 1913, Niels Bohr (1885-1962), a Danish physicist, proposed his quantized planetary
model of the atom to elucidate how electrons can have stable orbits around the nucleus.
Note that in Rutherford`s model, the motion of electrons was unstable because,
according to classical mechanics and Maxwell's electromagnetic theory, any charged
particle moving on a curved path emits electro magnetic radiation; thus, the electron
would lose its energy and coil into nucleus.
- To give solution on the stability problem of the nuclear model, Bohr suggested that
electron move in orbits of fixed size and energy. The smaller the orbit, the lower its
energy. Now energy is radiated when an electron jumps from one orbit to another closer
to the nucleus. The atom becomes totally stable in the state with the nearest orbit to
nucleus (smallest orbit) since there is no lower-energy orbit into which the electron can
jump.

Moreover, Bohr hypothesized the following:

1. Electrons in atoms are permissible to be in certain motionless states. Each stationary is
associated with a certain energy.
2. No energy emission occurs while electron is in a stationary state. When it moves from a high
energy-stationary state to a low energy stationary state (a transition), an emission of energy
takes place. The amount of energy is equal to the energy difference between the two stationary
states.
3. In any stationary state, an electron moves in a circular orbit around the nucleus.
4. An electron is allowed to move with an angular momentum

Schrodinger's Electron Cloud Model

 - In 1962, Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961) developed a powerful atomic model based on
wave functions, which is further based on the assumption that the electron is a wave.
The wave functions summarize where an electron is likely to be found.
- This function of an electron is called atomic orbital, a region in three dimensional space
where an electron has the highest probability to be located. Schrodinger's quantum
mechanical model allowed the electron to occupy three-dimensional space.

Isotopes
- It has been discussed that the center of an atom is a massive nucleus composed of
neutron and protons. It has also been settled that the atoms of the same element are not
necessarily identical as they can differ with respect to the number of neutron in their
nuclei.

When an element has two or more "versions" of atoms, each will have the same number of
protons but differ in the number of neutrons; the unlike versions are called isotopes. Different
isotopes of the same element have the same atomic number, but different mass numbers, which
is the total number of protons and number of neutrons.

SUMMARY:
- All matter is consist of tiny particle called atoms.
- Thomson was studying the effect of passing an electrical current through a gas when the
gas gave off rays made of negatively charged particles.
- The center of the atom was given the name "nucleus" by Rutherford. The nucleus is very
small compared to the size of the whole atom.