Properties of nuclei: Example

• Example 1: Common iron nuclei have mass number 56.

Find the radius, approximate mass, and density of an iron
nucleus.
 The liquid drop model

• The liquid drop model is phenomenological (no

detailed theory for the numbers, only tweaking to
make it fit observations).
where C1 = 15.75, C2 = 17.80, C3 = 0.7100, C4 = 23.69, C5 =
39, all in MeV.

Surface tension Repulsion N-Z parity Pairing

term term term term
 Activities and half-lives
• The half-life is the time for the number of
radioactive nuclei to decrease to one-half of their
original number.
• Because the number of decays is proportional to
the number of atoms available to decay, e.g.
•
• the number of remaining nuclei decreases
exponentially (see figure at right). The solution
to the above equation is found by rearranging
and integrating:

• To find the half-life, just determine when

• N = N0/2, which is when , or An established unit of
.
radiation activity (−dN/dt) is
• If you start with N0 nuclei, after 1 half-life you called the Curie:
will have N0/2
1 Ci = 3.70x1010 decay/s.
• The quantity 1/λ is called the mean lifetime.
In SI units, 1 decay/s is called
the becquerel (Bq).
 Activities and half-lives
• Example : Activity of 57Co. The isotope 57Co decays by electron capture to 57Fe
with a half-life of 272 d. The 57Fe nucleus is produced in an excited state, and it
almost instantaneously emits gammy rays that we can detect. (a) Find the mean
lifetime and decay constant for 57Co. (b) If the activity of a 57Co radiation
sources is now 2.00 μCi, how many 57Co nuclei does the source contain?
(c) What will be the activity after 1 year?
• (a) Since the half-life t1/2 = ln 2/λ = (272 d)(86400 s/d) = 2.35 × 107 s, the
decay constant is λ = ln 2 / 2.35 × 107 s = 2.95 × 10-8 s-1. Tmean = 1/λ = 3.39 × 107
s = 392 d.
• (b) The activity

• so N = 7.4 × 104 decay/s / 2.95 × 10-8 s-1 = 2.51 × 1012 nuclei.

• (c) After 1 year, the number of nuclei remaining will be

• The activity will decline by a like factor, or 0.394 (2.00 μCi) = 0.788 μCi
 Activities and half-lives
• Example : Radiocarbon Dating. The isotope 14C decays via beta-minus decay to 14N with
a half-life of 5730 y. Before 1900 the activity per unit mass of atmospheric carbon due to
the presence of 14C averaged about 0.255 Bq per gram of carbon. (a) What fraction of
carbon atoms were 14C? (b) In analyzing an archaeological specimen containing 500 mg
of carbon, you observe 174 decays in one hour. What is the age of the specimen?
• (a) Since the half-life t1/2 = ln 2/λ = (5730 y)(3.156 × 107 s/y) = 1.808 × 1011 s, the
decay constant is λ = ln 2 / 1.808 × 1011 s = 3.83 × 10-12 s-1.
• We get the number of atoms from the activity

• This is the number of 14C atoms, but how many C atoms are there in 1 gram
(1/12.011 mol)? Avogadro’s number is 6.022 × 1023 atoms/mol, so the total in 1 gram is
6.022 × 1023 atoms/mol * 1/12.011 mol = 5.01 × 1022 atoms. The fraction of 14C atoms
was 1.33 × 10-12.
• (b) The activity when it died would be
• Now it is 174 decays/3600 s = 0.048 Bq, or a factor of 0.379 of what it was. Thus,
N(t)/N0 = 0.379. The age is then:
 Nuclear reactions

• A nuclear reaction is a rearrangement of

nuclear components due to bombardment by
a particle rather than a spontaneous natural
process.
• The difference in masses before and after
the reaction corresponds to the reaction
energy Q.
 Neutron Interactions
•. A nuclear reaction is generally symbolised as
•Target (projectile, ejectile) Residue.
•It indicates that a particle (projectile, say neutron) hits a nucleus
(Target, say U-235), and the interaction results in a nucleus
(Residue, say U-236), and a particle (ejectile, say γ).
•Examples:
•U-235 (n, γ) U-236: Capture of neutron and ejection of γ. U-235

(n,f) Fission Products: Neutron fission

•Fe-56 (n, n) Fe-56: Scattering of a neutron.
 Elastic scattering
The neutron and the nuclide collide and share a part of their kinetic
energies. They rebound with speeds different from the original
speeds, such that the ‘total kinetic energy’ before and after the
collision remains the same. If the nucleus is stationary before
collision, it will gain energy from the neutron and start moving, and
the neutron gets slowed down due to loss of kinetic energy.
However, the residual nucleus is not excited but is in its ground
state. This is the type of reaction that mostly helps fast neutrons to
be slowed down to low energies in a reactor
 Inelastic scattering
The neutron and the nuclide collide and rebound with speeds different from the
original speeds, but the rebounding nuclide is left in an excited energy state.
Hence the ‘total kinetic energy’ after the collision is less than that before the
collision, and this difference accounts for the energy of excitation. If the nucleus
is stationary before collision, the neutron must have kinetic energy exceeding
the excitation energy, so that such a reaction is possible. Hence inelastic
scattering is said to be a ‘threshold reaction’, the threshold being the minimum
kinetic energy of the neutron required for the reaction to be possible. The
excited nucleus subsequently de-excites by emitting γ radiation.
 Capture

The neutron is absorbed by the target nucleus to form the next

higher isotope (of mass A+1), in an excited state of energy.
The new isotope de-excites by emitting γ rays. The neutron is
thus lost in this reaction. This is often known as ‘radiative
capture’.
 (n, x) reaction

In this reaction, ‘n’ represents neutron, and ‘x’ represents

any particle like neutron, proton, deuteron, α particle, etc.
or a combination of such particles. It means that a
neutron interaction with a nuclide results in emission of
the particle(s) represented by ‘x’.

For example, if the emitted particle is α, it is called (n, α)

reaction. If a neutron and a proton are emitted, then it is
called (n, np) reaction. If 2 neutrons are emitted, it is
then (n, 2n) reaction. Such reactions are generally
threshold reactions.
Nuclear Fission
A heavy nucleus, splits into two smaller nuclei, called the
fission fragments, mostly of unequal masses, one often with
nearly half the mass as the other, and rarely of equal masses.
This reaction gives off a large amount of energy and emits
two or more neutrons, and gamma rays.

When a neutron hits a heavy nuclide like U- 235, the neutron

gets absorbed in the heavy nuclide that gets energetically
agitated (or excited). If the new energy state of the heavy
nuclide is sufficient for it to split, then it can split to cause
fission. The neutrons produced in fission are fast, with an
average energy of 2 MeV.
The fission fragments themselves are in excited
state, and they de-excite generally by beta, gamma
and neutron emissions. The neutron emitted during
fission are called prompt neutrons, and those
emitted by the fragments after a delay are called
delayed neutrons.
Similary, prompt and delayed gammas are also
emitted. About 80 % of the energy released in
fission is carried away by the fission products (and
the rest by the other particles), which in turn
transfer the energy to the surroundings, making the
energy recoverable.
Some energy carried away by particles known as
neutrinos is not recoverable as they do not interact
with any material.
Approximate Distribution of Fission Energy

Kinetic energy of fission fragments : 170 MeV

Prompt radiations (gammas and neutrons): 12 MeV
Delayed radiations (neutrons and gammas): 12 MeV
Neutrinos (unrecoverable): 8 MeV
Total: 202 MeV
 Nuclear fission fragments

• Nuclear fission is a
decay process in which
an unstable nucleus
splits into two fragments
(the fission fragments)
• Figure on the right
shows the mass
distribution of the fission
fragments from the
fission of 236U*.
 Liquid-drop model

• The liquid-drop model helps explain fission.

 Chain reactions
• The neutrons released by fission can cause a chain reaction (see
Figure below).
 Fusion
• If two light nuclei fuse together, they also form a nucleus with a
larger binding energy per nucleon and energy is released. This
reaction is called nuclear fusion.

• The most energy is released if two isotopes of hydrogen fuse

together in the reaction.

20
 Formation of Elements
• The proton-proton chain includes a series of reactions that eventually
converts four protons into an alpha particle.

• As stars form due to gravitational attraction of interstellar matter, the

heat produced by the attraction is enough to cause protons to
overcome their Coulomb repulsion and fuse by the following
reaction:

• The deuterons are then able to combine with 1H to produce 3He:

• The 3He atoms can then combine to produce 4He:

21
 Formation of Elements
■ As the reaction proceeds, however, the temperature increases, and
eventually 12C nuclei are formed by a process that converts three 4He
into 12C.
■ Another cycle due to carbon is also able to produce 4He. The series of
reactions responsible for the carbon or CNO cycle are

■ Proton-proton and CNO cycles are the only nuclear reactions that can
supply the energy in stars.

22
Nuclear Fusion on Earth
• Among the several possible fusion reactions, three of the simplest
involve the three isotopes of hydrogen.

• Three main conditions are necessary for controlled nuclear fusion:

1) The temperature must be hot enough to allow the ions, for example,
deuterium and tritium, to overcome the Coulomb barrier and fuse
their nuclei together. This requires a temperature of 100–200
million K.
2) The ions have to be confined together in close proximity to allow the
ions to fuse. A suitable ion density is 2–3 × 1020 ions/m3.
3) The ions must be held together in close proximity at high
temperature long enough to avoid plasma cooling. A suitable time is
1–2 s.

23
 Fusion Product
• The product of the plasma density n and the containment time τ must have
a minimum value at a sufficiently high temperature in order to initiate fusion
and produce as much energy as it consumes. The minimum value is

• This relation is called the Lawson criterion after the British physicist J. D.
Lawson who first derived it in 1957. A triple product of nτT called the fusion
product is sometimes used (where T is the ion temperature).

• The factor Q is used to represent the ratio of the power produced in the
fusion reaction to the power required to produce the fusion (heat). This Q
factor is not to be confused with the Q value.
• The breakeven point is Q = 1, and ignition occurs for Q >> 1. For controlled
fusion produced in the laboratory, temperatures on the order of 20 keV are
satisfactory.

24
Controlled Thermonuclear Reactions

• Because of the large amount of energy produced and the relatively small Coulomb barrier, the first fusion
reaction will most likely be the D + T reaction. The tritium will be derived from two possible reactions:

• The problem of controlled fusion involves significant scientific and engineering difficulties. The two major
schemes to control thermonuclear reactions are magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) and inertial confinement
fusion (ICF).
• Magnetic confinement of plasma is done in a tokomak, which has many confinement boundaries.
• Heating of the plasma to sufficiently high temperatures begins with the resistive heating from the electric
current flowing in the plasma. There are two other schemes to add additional heat: (1) injection of high-energy
(40–120 keV) neutral (so they pass through the magnetic field) fuel atoms that interact with the plasma, and (2)
radio-frequency (RF) induction heating of the plasma (similar to a microwave oven).
25
Inertial Confinement
• The concept of inertial confinement fusion is to use an intense high-powered
beam of heavy ions or light (laser) called a driver to implode a pea-sized target (a
few mm in diameter) composed of D + T to a density and temperature high
enough to cause fusion ignition.

■ The National Ignition Facility at

Livermore uses 192 lasers to
create a thermonuclear burn for
research purposes.
■ Sandia National Laboratories has
used a device called a Z-pinch
that uses a huge jolt of current to
create a powerful magnetic field
that squeezes ions into implosion
and heats the plasma. Sandia
has proposed an upgrade that
may be a serious contender in
the fusion race.

26
Cross section
 Mean free path of neutron

x = Σt −1 Average distance traveled by a neutron

before making a collision