NUCLEI

Composition of Nucleus The composition of a nucleus can be described by using the following terms and symbols.
(i) Atomic Number Z Atomic number of an element is the number of protons present inside the nucleus of an atom of the
element.
Atomic number = Number of protons = Number of electrons
(ii) Mass Number A Mass number of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons inside the atomic nucleus of
the element.
Mass number = Number of protons + Number of neutrons = Number of electrons + Number of neutrons i.e.
A=Z+N
The mass of an atom is very small compared to kilograms.
e.g. mass of carbon=1.992647×10-26Kg.
so, Kg is not a convenient unit to measure such small quantities and a different mass unit is used for expressing
atomic masses. This unit is atomic mass unit (a.m.u.) defined as one twelveth the mass of carbon.
1
1𝑢 = × 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐶 12 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚
12
1.992647 × 10−26
1𝑢 =
12
-27
1u=1.660539×10 Kg.
Electron Volt: 1 electron volt is the energy gained by an electron when accelerated through a potential
difference of 1 volt.
1eV=1.6×10-19J
1MeV=106eV
1MeV=1.6×10-18J
Relation between (a.m.u.) and MeV:
𝐸 = 𝑚𝑐 2
𝐸 = 1.66 × 10−27 × (3 × 108 )2 𝐽
𝐸 = 1.49 × 10−10 𝐽
1.602 × 10−13 𝐽 = 1𝑀𝑒𝑉
1
1𝐽 = 𝑀𝑒𝑉
1.602 × 10−13
1.49 × 10−10
1.49 × 10−10 𝐽 = 𝑀𝑒𝑉
1.602 × 10−13
= 931.25𝑀𝑒𝑉
Isotopes:
It is defined as the atoms of any element having the same atomic number (Z) but different atomic mass numbers
(A). These lead to similar chemical properties, whereas the physical properties might differ.
Isobars:
It is defined as the atoms of any element with the same atomic mass numbers (A) but different atomic numbers
(Z).
Isotones:
It is defined as atoms of any element having the same number of neutrons.
Isomers:
It is defined as the atoms of any element with the same atomic mass numbers (A) and atomic numbers (Z) but in
different energy states.

Discovery of Neutron: Isotopes of hydrogen; 11𝐻 , 21𝐻 , 31𝐻

They contain 1 proton but their masses are in the ratio 1:2:3. So apart from Proton, Deuterium and Tritium must
contain some neutral matter. This hypothesis was found and verified by James Chadwick.
 1. He observed that when beryllium nuclei was bombarded with -particle, there is emission of neutral
radiation.
2. He assumed that neutral radiation consist of a new type of neutral particles called neutrons and mass of
neutron is 1.00866u=1.67x10-27Kg.
Properties of Hydrogen:
1. Neutron is an elementary particle present in the nuclei of all elements except Hydrogen (Proton).
2. Neutron has no charge and its mass is slightly more than that of proton.
3. A free neutron is unstable. It spontaneously decay into a proton, electron and antineutrino.
1 1 0
0𝑛 → 1𝐻 + −1𝑒 + 𝑄 + 𝑉
̅
4. Being, neutral, neutrons are not repelled or attracted by the nucleus and the electrons of an atom.
5. They induce radioactivity in many elements.
A=Z+N
NUCLEUS SIZE:
Experimental measurements show that volume of nucleus is directly proportional to its mass number.
𝑉∝𝐴
4𝜋𝑅 3
∝𝐴
3
1
𝑅 ∝ 𝐴3
1
𝑅 = 𝑅0 𝐴3
R0= empirical constant = 1.2×10-15m.
NUCLEAR DENSITY
Density of nuclear matter is ratio of mass of nucleus and its volume. If m is the average mass of the nucleon and
R is the nuclear radius. Then mass of the nucleus = mA
1
4𝜋𝑅 3 4𝜋(𝑅0 𝐴3 )3 4𝜋𝑅03 𝐴
𝑉= = =
3 3 3
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑢𝑠
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑢𝑠
𝑚𝐴
𝜌=
4𝜋 3
3 𝑅0 𝐴
3𝑚
𝜌=
4𝜋𝑅03
3 × 1.66 × 10−27
𝜌=
4 × 3.14 × (1.2 × 10−15 )3
𝐾𝑔
𝜌 = 2.29 × 1017 3
𝑚
This is very large as compared to ordinary matter. Hence matter in the nucleus is very densely packed.
Try to solve this question
Obtain approximate ratio of nuclear radii of iron 𝟓𝟔 𝟐𝟑𝟖
𝟐𝟔𝑭𝒆 and 𝟗𝟐𝑼 uranium. What is the approximate ratio of
their nuclear density?
𝟏
Hint: 𝑹 = 𝑹𝟎 𝑨𝟑
PAIR PRODUCTION
Pair production is a process in which the electron and positron are formed by an incident photon on the nucleus.
Rest mass energy of an electron = 9.1×10-31 ×(3 ×108)2 = 0.51 MeV
For pair production the energy of photon should be at least 1.02 MeV (0.51×2).
(For E<1.02MeV, it would cause photoelectric effect or Compton effect.)
(For E>1.02 MeV, energy in excess of 1.02 MeV is obtained as KE of these particles. In this case positron will get
more energy b’cos nucleus accelerates it due to repulsion.)
ANNIHILATION OF THE MATTER
Annihilation is a process in which the electron and positron combine to form a photon, it can also be called as
the reverse process of pair production
low energy electron combines with a low energy positron and forms photons, in this process, there is also the
liberation of energy.

+ Υ
Energy of each Υ-photon is 0.51MeV.

Mass-Energy:
Einstein showed that mass is another form of energy and one can convert mass energy into another form of
energy and vice-versa. He gave the mass energy equivalence relation.
𝐸 = 𝑚𝑐 2
1𝑎. 𝑚. 𝑢 = 931𝑚𝑒𝑉
In a reaction, conservation law of energy states that initial energy and final energy are equal provided the energy
associated with the mass is also included.
Nuclear-Binding Energy: The nucleus is made up of neutrons and protons. So it may be expected that mass of
nucleus is equal to total mass of its individual protons and neutrons. However, the nuclear mass (M) is found to
be less than this. The difference in mass of a nucleus and its constituents is called the mass defect and is given by
∆𝑚 = [𝑍𝑚𝑝 + (𝐴 − 𝑍)𝑚𝑛 − 𝑀]
Since mass of the nucleus is less than the sum of the mass of its constituents. So the equivalence energy of the
nucleus is less than that of the sum of the equivalent energy of its constituents. If we want to break the nucleus
into protons and neutrons, this extra energy,
𝐸𝐵 = 𝑚𝑐 2 , has to be supplied. If a certain no of protons and neutrons are brought together to form a nucleus,
an energy (EB) is released. This energy (EB) is called the Binding Energy of the nucleus. The binding energy of a
nucleus is the energy with which the nucleons are bonding in a nucleus. It is equal to energy required to break up
a nucleus into its constituent’s protons and neutrons and to separate them to such a large distance that they
may not interact with each other.
Expression for Binding Energy Per Nucleon: In order to compare the stability of various nuclei, we calculate
Binding Energy per nucleon. Higher is the binding energy per nucleon, more stable is the nucleus.
Mass defect during the formation of nucleus, ∆𝑚 = [𝑍𝑚𝑝 + (𝐴 − 𝑍)𝑚𝑛 − 𝑀]
The Binding energy of the nucleus, ∆𝐸𝐵 = ∆𝑚𝑐 2 ,
∆𝐸
Mean Binding Energy per Nucleon 𝐵. 𝐸. 𝑁 = 𝐴𝐵
1
𝐵̅ = [𝑍𝑚𝑝 + (𝐴 − 𝑍)𝑚𝑛 − 𝑀]𝐶 2
𝐴
𝑍 𝑚
𝐵̅ = [ (𝑚𝑃 − 𝑚𝑛 ) − 𝑚𝑛 − ]𝐶 2
𝐴 𝐴
Binding Energy Curve:
The variation of average binding energy per nucleon with mass number (A) is shown in figure
Features
1. The Binding energy per nucleon is small for light nuclei like 11𝐻, 21𝐻, 31𝐻 .
2. In the mass number, range 2-20, the binding energy curve reveals maximum for Helium, Carbon, Oxygen
indication their higher stability and minima for Lithium, Boron, Nitrogen indicating their lower stability
then the neighbouring nuclei.
3. Binding energy per nucleon is maximum (approximately 8.5 MeV per nucleon) in the mass number range
40-120. The peak value is 8.8 MeV per nucleon for Iron.
4. As the mass number increases B.E.N decreases gradually and falls to 7.6MeV per nucleon for Uranium.
Nuclear Force:
The strong attracting force acting between the protons and neutrons of nucleus which keep them bound
together in the tiny nucleus are called nuclear forces.
Important Properties of Nuclear Forces:
1. Nuclear forces are the strongest attractive forces known in the nature. FG:FE:FN=1:1036:1038
2. They are short range forces effective upto 2-3 fermi from a nucleon.
3. They have charge independent nature i.e. it can act between a pair of neutrons, a pair of protons and also
between a neutron proton pair with same strength.
4. They show saturation effect i.e. a nucleon can interact only with a neighbouring nucleon.
5. They are non-central forces i.e. they don’t act along the line joining the centre of the two nucleons.
The variation of nuclear forces with the distance between the nucleons is not known exactly. However we
observe that
i. Nuclear forces are negligible upto 10 fermi or when the distance between the nucleons is 10 fermi.
ii. When nucleons are brought together, nuclear force of attraction develops which goes on increasing
rapidly with decreasing distance which is maximum at 1.5f.
iii. When then distance between nucleons become less than 0.5f, the nuclear forces become strongly
repulsive.
Energy Released in Nuclear Fission:
Binding energy per nucleon is smaller for heavier nuclei (7.6MeV) than for the middle ones (8.4MeV) i.e.
heavier nuclei are less stable. In order to attain higher value of binding energy per nucleon, a heavier nucleus
splits into light nuclei releasing an enormous amount of energy. This is what happens in a nuclear fission.
Energy Released in Nuclear Fusion:
Binding energy per nucleon is small for light nuclei in order to attain higher value of binding energy per nucleon,
two lighter nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus releasing an enormous amount of energy. This is what
happens in a nuclear fusion.
Stability of a Nucleus:
Stability of a nucleus depends upon following factors
1. B.E/A must be higher.
2. Even even nucleus (Even Z, Even A) is found to be more stable, even if it has comparatively low value of
binding energy per nucleon and an even odd nucleus or odd even nucleus is lesser stable and an odd odd
nucleus is least stable.
3. The nuclei having lesser neutron to proton ratio is more stable. 73𝑋, 43𝑋
Ratio 4/3 and 1/3
2nd one is more stable.