Nuclear

Physics - The
Nuclear model of
the atom
- The Atom
- The Nucleus
- Isotopes
- Nuclear Fission
- Nuclear Fusion
The Atom
The Atom Structure of an atom
(Solar System Model)

- Every atom has a tiny central nucleus

- Negatively charged electrons orbit the
positively charged nucleus
- The electrons are attracted to the
nucleus (because of its opposite
charge) but their speed prevents them
from falling into the nucleus
 Forming Ions
An atom has equal amounts of positive and negative charges , so it’s neutral overall.

- Electrons can be gained or lost by

atoms relatively easily
- For example: by rubbing an insulator
- This leads to formation of ions in a
process called ionisation
 Forming Ions
- When an atoms gains an
electron, it becomes a
negative ion (negatively
charged atom)
- When an atoms loses an
electron, it becomes a
positive ion (positively
charged atom)
 Electrons were much smaller and lighter
The nuclear model of the
than atoms. Electrons were part of atom – Disproved model
atoms.

- Since electrons had negative charges,

there must be other particles in an
atom with an equal amount of positive
charge, so that an atom has no overall
charge – it’s neutral.
- Since electrons have very little mass,
the positive charge must also account
for most of the mass of the atom.
This is called the ‘Plum pudding model’. The
The nuclear model of
electrons are the negatively charged plums
in a positively charged pudding. A plum
the atom – Disproved model
pudding is a cake with fruit dotted through
it.
 The nuclear model of the atom
In an experiment:
– Why we no longer think atoms are like plum
pudding
- Tiny particles called alpha
particles were fired at a very
thin piece of gold foil.
- Alpha particles are tiny, but it
has almost 8000 times the
mass of an electron
- The alpha particles were
moving fast
 The nuclear model of the
In an experiment: atom – Why we no longer think
- They used gold foil atoms are like plum pudding
because it is easy to get
gold foil which is only a
few atoms thick
- The experiment was
performed in a vacuum
chamber as air would
absorb the alpha particles.
They predicted the alpha
particles would pass straight
through the gold.

Results:
- Most of the alpha
particles passed straight
through the gold foil,
scarcely deflected
- A few bounced back
towards the source of the
radiation
Explanation:
- Alpha particles are
positively charged.
- If they are repelled
back from the gold
foil, it must be by
another positive
charge
Explanation:
- If only a few were
repelled, it was because
the positive charge of
the gold atoms was
concentrated in a tiny
space within each atom
- Most alpha particles
went through because
they never went near this
concentration of charge
Explanation:

The tiny core of concentrated positive

charge, at the heart of every atom, is what
we now call the atom’s nucleus.

Conclusion:

- Most of the mass of an atom is

concentrated in the central nucleus

- The nucleus is positively charged

- The nucleus is tiny compared to the

atom; an atom is mainly empty space.
 A.
Summary … The majority of them go straight through. This
happens because the atom is mainly empty
space

B.
Some are deflected through small angles. This
happens because the positive α-particles are
repelled by the positive nucleus which contains
most of its mass
C.
A very small number are deflected straight back.
This is because the nucleus is extremely small
The Nucleus
 The atomic nucleus is made up of two types of particles:
Protons and Neutrons

Protons Neutrons
Carry the positive charge of the nucleus They are neutral

Protons and neutrons have similar masses, accounting for most of the atom’s mass because electrons are
so light. Together protons and neutrons are known as nucleons.
 Protons, Neutrons, Electrons

Particle PROTON NEUTRON ELECTRON

Position In nucleus In nucleus Orbiting nucleus
Charge / C +1.6 × 10−19 0 −1.6 × 10−19
Relative Charge +1 0 −1
Mass / kg 1.6 × 10−27 1.6 × 10−27 9.11 × 10−31
Relative Mass 1 1 1
1836
(𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑧𝑒𝑟𝑜)
 Charge and Mass of Nuclei

CHARGE MASS
The charge on a nucleus is The mass of a nucleus is

equal to the number of equal to the mass of the

protons as each proton has nucleons as both protons

a relative charge of +1. and neutrons have a

relative mas of one.
 Periodic Table of elements
It shows elements in order, starting with
the smallest number of protons in the
nucleus of each atom

- Every atom of Hydrogen has one proton

in its nucleus, so Hydrogen is element
number one.

- Every Helium atom has two protons, so

Helium is element number 2, and so on.
 Nuclide Notation

X A Z
- Represents the chemical Nucleon number (Mass Proton number (Atomic
symbol of the element number): number):
- Each element has its - The number of nucleons - The number of protons in
own symbol consisting (protons + neutrons) in a an atomic nucleus
of one or two letters atomic nucleus
Nuclide Notation

State / Calculate the following:

1. Proton number
2. Nucleon number
3. Number of Neutrons
4. Number of electrons
 Elements and Isotopes
Isotopes of an element have the same proton
number but different nucleon numbers.

- Atoms of all elements exist in more than one form

- The different isotopes of an element all have the same chemical properties, but those with a
greater number of neutrons are heavier
- The different isotopes of an element all have the same number of protons but different
numbers of neutrons in their nuclei.
- The proton number ‘Z’ tells us which element an atom belongs to.
 Elements and Isotopes
Isotopes of an element have the same proton number but different nucleon numbers.

- Isotopes tend to be more unstable due to their imbalance of protons and neutrons
- This means they're more likely to decay
Isotopes of
Hydrogen

Hydrogen exists in
three different
forms known as
isotopes.

- All three have the same Proton = 1 Proton = 1 Proton = ?

proton number – 1 Nucleon = 1 Nucleon = ? Nucleon = ?
- But they have different Nuetron = 1 -1 = 0 Nuetron = ? Nuetron = ?
numbers of neutrons (0, 1, 2). Electron = 1 Electron = ? Electron = ?
Isotopes of
Helium

Helium exists in
two different
forms known as
isotopes.
A much lighter and rarer isotope The most common isotope

- All two have the same proton Proton = 2 Proton = ?

number – 2 Nucleon = 3 Nucleon = ?
- But they have different Nuetron = 3 -2 = 1 Nuetron = ?
numbers of neutrons (2, 1). Electron = 2 Electron = ?
 Isotopes of Uranium

Uranium exists in
two different
forms known as
isotopes.
The most common isotope It’s used in nuclear Power
stations as its nuclei can be split
- All two have the same proton
Proton = to release a huge amount of
number
Nucleon = energy.
- But they have different
numbers of neutrons. Neutron =
Electron =
 Nuclear Fission
Fission and Fusion
The splitting of a large,
unstable nucleus into two
smaller nuclei.

Fusion
A process where two light
nuclei join together to form
a larger nucleus.
 Nuclear Fission
There is a lot of energy stored within the nucleus of an atom. This energy can be released in a
nuclear reaction such as fission
 Nuclear Fission
The mass of the products (daughter Isotopes of uranium and
nuclei and neutrons) is less than the plutonium both undergo
mass of the original nucleus. This is fission and are used as
because the remaining mass has fuels in nuclear power
been converted into energy which is stations.
released during the fission process

The products of fission move

away very quickly
Gamma rays are
Energy transferred is from
also emitted
nuclear potential energy to
kinetic energy.
 Nuclear Fission
Example: A Uranium-235 nucleus is hit by a neutron. This reaction can be represented by
a balanced nuclear equation:

235
92𝑈 + 10𝑛 → 92
36𝐵𝑎 + 141
56𝐾𝑟 + 3 1
0𝑛 + 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦

Uranium-235 splits, making two new nuclei (Krypton and Barium nucleus) and three extra neutrons. A
large amount of energy is also released. Both the proton and nucleon numbers must be equal on each
side of the equation.
 Nuclear Fusion
Small nuclei can react to release energy in this process called nuclear fusion
 Nuclear Fusion
The mass of the product (fused The energy produced during

nucleus) is less than the mass of the nuclear fusion comes from a

two original nuclei. This is because very small amount of the

the remaining mass has been particle’s mass being

converted into energy which is converted into energy

released when the nuclei fuse

Stars use nuclear fusion to
This process requires extremely high produce energy. In most stars,
temperatures to maintain. This is why hydrogen atoms are fused
nuclear fusion has proven very hard to Produces even more energy together to form helium and
reproduce on Earth than nuclear fission
produce lots of energy
 Nuclear Fusion
The equation below shows one of the fusion reactions which occurs in the Sun. The proton
and nucleon numbers balance:

2
1𝐻 + 21𝐻 → 32𝐻𝑒 + 10𝑛
 Nuclear Fission and Fusion
Where does the huge amount of energy released in fission and fusion
come from?

- Energy cannot be created or destroyed

- The total mass of the particles before a fission or fusion reaction is found to be slightly more
than the total mass after the reaction
- The mass which is lost is converted to energy
- We use the following equation to calculate the amount of energy released:

𝐸 = 𝑚𝑐 2
Energy released = mass lost × 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑
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End of The
Nuclear
model of the
atom
Questions ???