Scribd
Upload
3 views

QuickNotes_15_LiquidDropModel

The document discusses the Liquid Drop Model and the Semi-Empirical Mass Formula (SEMF), which describes the binding energy of atomic nuclei through various contributions such as volume, surface, Coulomb, asymmetry, and pairing effects. It also explains the concept of nuclear fission as the deformation and splitting of a nucleus, highlighting the balance between Coulomb and surface energy. Additionally, it introduces the fissionability of a nucleus and its dependence on the ratio of charge to surface energy, indicating that higher fissionability suggests a greater likelihood of fission occurring.

Uploaded by

umakantlamani2025
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
3 views

QuickNotes_15_LiquidDropModel

The document discusses the Liquid Drop Model and the Semi-Empirical Mass Formula (SEMF), which describes the binding energy of atomic nuclei through various contributions such as volume, surface, Coulomb, asymmetry, and pairing effects. It also explains the concept of nuclear fission as the deformation and splitting of a nucleus, highlighting the balance between Coulomb and surface energy. Additionally, it introduces the fissionability of a nucleus and its dependence on the ratio of charge to surface energy, indicating that higher fissionability suggests a greater likelihood of fission occurring.

Uploaded by

umakantlamani2025
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Quick notes on

Liquid Drop Model


Zach Meisel
Ohio University - ASTR4201 - Fall 2020
The Semi-Empirical Mass Formula
• BE(Z,A) = Volume - Surface - Coulomb - Asymmetry ± Pairing
• One mathematical parameterization* (of many!): *from B. Martin, Nuclear and Particle Physics (2009)

• 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝑍𝑍, 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑎𝑎𝑣𝑣 𝑓𝑓𝑣𝑣 𝐴𝐴 − 𝑎𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴 − 𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑐 𝑓𝑓𝑐𝑐 𝑍𝑍, 𝐴𝐴 − 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑓𝑓𝑎𝑎 𝑍𝑍, 𝐴𝐴 + 𝑖𝑖𝑎𝑎𝑝𝑝 𝑓𝑓𝑝𝑝 (𝐴𝐴)
•Volume: Nucleons have some self-binding, so: 𝒇𝒇𝒗𝒗 𝑨𝑨 = 𝑨𝑨
1 𝟐𝟐
•Surface: Since radius goes as 𝑅𝑅 ∝ 𝐴𝐴 ⁄3 and surface area goes as 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∝ 𝑅𝑅2 , 𝒇𝒇𝒔𝒔 𝑨𝑨 = 𝑨𝑨 �𝟑𝟑
𝑞𝑞2 1⁄ 𝒁𝒁(𝒁𝒁−𝟏𝟏)
•Coulomb: Energy for a charged sphere goes as 𝑅𝑅 and 𝑅𝑅 ∝ 𝐴𝐴 , so 𝒇𝒇𝒄𝒄 𝒁𝒁, 𝑨𝑨 = 𝟏𝟏� 3
𝑨𝑨 𝟑𝟑
•Asymmetry: Z=N favored (want
𝟐𝟐 Z=A/2) but lesser problem
𝑨𝑨
𝒁𝒁−𝟐𝟐
for large A, so 𝒇𝒇𝒂𝒂 𝒁𝒁, 𝑨𝑨 =
𝑨𝑨
•Pairing: Favor spin-0 nucleon pairs & disfavor unpaired
−𝟏𝟏
nucleons, empirically 𝒇𝒇𝒑𝒑 𝑨𝑨 = 𝑨𝑨 Even-Z, Even-N: 𝒊𝒊 = +𝟏𝟏
•Odd-Z, Odd-N: 𝒊𝒊 = −𝟏𝟏
•Even-Odd: 𝒊𝒊 = 𝟎𝟎
•𝑎𝑎𝑖𝑖 are fit to data
R. Evans, The Atomic Nucleus (1955)
The SEMF is often close enough
Typically within ~1 percent of right BE Sometimes used for neutron star crusts
(though often with a shell correction)

Meisel et al. JPG 2018

Consider the fact that binding


energies are ~A*8MeV

Here, av = 15.302, as =16.518, ac = 0.687, aa = 88.974, and ap = 5.898, with the functional form on the previous slide
Nuclear Fission: Splitting a Liquid Drop
• Consider deforming a nucleus: volume and number of nucleon
pairs are conserved, but the surface gets larger and the charges
get spaced further apart.
• i.e. The Coulomb penalty of the SEMF decreases, but the surface penalty increases
• The change in energy: ∆𝐸𝐸 = 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 − 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 𝐸𝐸𝑐𝑐′ + 𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠 ′ − 𝐸𝐸𝑐𝑐 + 𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠
• Parameterize the nuclear shape as an ellipsoid,
𝑅𝑅 𝜃𝜃 = 𝑅𝑅0 [1 + 𝛼𝛼2 𝑃𝑃2 (cos𝜃𝜃)],
where 𝑎𝑎 = 𝑅𝑅0 (1 + 𝛼𝛼2 ) , 𝑏𝑏 = 𝑅𝑅0 1 + 𝛼𝛼2 −1/2
𝑍𝑍 2
• Expanding, 𝐸𝐸𝑐𝑐′ ≈ 𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑐 1/3 1 − 15𝛼𝛼22 and 𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠′ ≈ 𝑎𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴2/3 1 + 25𝛼𝛼22 ,
𝐴𝐴
𝛼𝛼22 𝑍𝑍 2
so is ∆𝐸𝐸 = 2𝑎𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴2/3 − 𝑎𝑎𝑐𝑐 1/3
5 𝐴𝐴
• The drop will split when 𝐸𝐸𝑐𝑐 ≥ 2𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠
B.R. Martin, Nuclear and Particle Physics (2009)
Nuclear Fission: Splitting a Liquid Drop
𝐸𝐸𝑐𝑐 𝑍𝑍2�
𝐴𝐴
• Fissionability of a nucleus (in this naïve picture) is: 𝑥𝑥 = ≡ 𝑍𝑍2�
2𝐸𝐸𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

• In practice, (Loveland, Morrissey, & Seaborg, Modern Nuclear Chemistry)


2 𝑁𝑁−𝑍𝑍 2
𝑍𝑍 � = 50.8333 1 − 1.7826
𝐴𝐴 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝐴𝐴
• Note larger fissionability (i.e. closer to 𝑍𝑍 2� means a nucleus is more prone to fission
𝐴𝐴 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 )

NNDC

You might also like