Nuclear Physics

Atomic Mass Unit

At the nuclear level, the unit kg is not used very often since the
mass of neutron and proton ≈ 10-27 kg

Definition
One Atomic mass unit (1 a.m.u.) is defined as being
equal to one-twelfth of the mass of a carbon-12 atom

It is numerically equal to 1.6605 x 10-27 kg

In imprecise terms, it is the average mass of a nucleon in a

carbon atom

This means that carbon-12 has a mass of exactly 12 a.m.u.

2
 Discussion

Motivation
Beryllium-9 has an a.m.u. of 9.012. Fluorine-19 has an a.m.u of
18.998. What can you conclude from these values?

Beryllium, the fourth element in the periodic table, has a total of

4 proton + 5 neutron = 9 nucleon; however, its a.m.u is > 9!

This means that on average, a nucleon in beryllium is heavier than a

nucleon in carbon-12!

Same applies to fluorine, where its average nucleon mass is lighter

instead!

3
 Atomic Mass Unit

Figure below shows the mass of an isolated proton and neutron

Particle Mass in a.m.u

Proton 1.007276 u
Neutron 1.008665 u

Note that their isolated mass is higher compared to when they

are in a carbon nucleus!

It turns out that when neutron and proton are joined together to
form a nucleus, some mass is lost!

This phenomena is called a mass defect

4
 Mass Defect and Binding Energy

Definition
The mass defect of a nucleus is defined as the
difference between the total mass of the separate
nucleons and the combined mass of the nucleus

According to Einstein, energy and mass are equivalent ()

Definition
The binding energy of a nucleus is defined as the
energy required to separate the nucleon completely

This means that the mass defect is really the energy equivalent of
the mass defect of a nucleus
5
 Mass Energy Equivalence
We can now express the a.m.u in terms of energy using
Einstein’s equation

𝟏 𝐮=𝟏 . 𝟔𝟔 ×𝟏 𝟎−𝟐𝟕 𝐤𝐠 ⇒ 𝑬=𝒎 𝒄 𝟐=𝟏 . 𝟒𝟗𝟐𝟒× 𝟏𝟎 𝟏𝟎 𝐉

𝟏𝟎 𝟏 .𝟒𝟗𝟐𝟒 ×𝟏 𝟎𝟏𝟎
𝑬 =𝟏𝟒 . 𝟗𝟐 ×𝟏 𝟎 𝐉= − 𝟏𝟗
=𝟗𝟑 𝟏 . 𝟓 𝐌𝐞𝐕
𝟏 . 𝟔𝟎𝟐𝟏 ×𝟏 𝟎

Remember, the energy here is the equivalent of the mass defect

6
 Example
Calculate the binding energy of a carbon-12 nucleus

carbon-12

By   definition ,  carbon −12  nucleus  = 12.000000  u

The  mass  of  6 p  and  6n  = 6(1.007276)+ 6(1.008665) = 12.095646 
The   mass   defect   is  12.000000 – 12.095646 = – 0.095646  u
𝟖𝟐
𝑬=𝒎 𝒄 = ( 𝟎.𝟎𝟗𝟓𝟔𝟒𝟔 ×𝟏.𝟔𝟔×𝟏𝟎 )( 𝟑×𝟏𝟎 ) =−𝟏𝟒 𝒑 𝑱
𝟐 −𝟐𝟕

𝑬 =( 𝟎. 𝟎𝟗𝟓𝟔𝟒𝟔𝒖 ) ( 𝟗𝟑𝟏. 𝟓 𝑴𝒆𝑽 ) =−𝟖𝟗 𝑴𝒆𝑽 =−𝟏𝟒 𝒑 𝑱

7
 Binding Energy per Nucleon

Binding energy alone does not give the accurate picture

For example, uranium-235’s binding energy is about 1780 MeV,

while iron-56 has about 500 MeV

Does this mean iron is less stable than uranium?

Definition
Binding energy per nucleon (BE/N) is defined as the
total binding energy of the nucleus divided by the
total number of nucleons

Uranium’s BE/N = 1780/235 = 7.57 MeV, iron’s BE/N = 8.93 MeV

Iron has a higher BE/N, and thus more stable!

8
 Binding Energy per Nucleon Graph

Binding energy per nucleon (BE/N) is a measure of the stability

of the nucleus: Higher BE/N ratio means the nucleons are more
tightly bound
9
 Binding Energy per Nucleon Graph

Most
stable
region

The graph shows a “stable region”, with the peak occuring at

iron-56; moving away from this region, the nuclides are less
stable
10
 Binding Energy per Nucleon Graph

Most
stable
region

To the left of the stable region are elements of light nuclei; In

this region, the stability of nuclei increases as the nucleon
number A increases
11
 Binding Energy per Nucleon Graph

Most
stable
region

However, we can observe some unusually stable nucleus: He-4,

C-12, O-16; this explains why they are the most abundant light
elements that exist on earth
12
 Binding Energy per Nucleon Graph

Most
stable
region

Fusion

As a result, light nuclei may combine to form a larger but more

stable nuclei, releasing an enormous amount of energy – this
process is called nuclear fusion
13
 Binding Energy per Nucleon Graph

Most
stable
region

To the right of the stable region are elements of heavy nuclei;

The BE/N decreases as the nuclei gets bigger, because the strong
force is a short range force (10-15 m)
14
 Binding Energy per Nucleon Graph

Most
stable
region

As the nucleus size grows, more neutron is needed to maintain

the strong force; however, only a certain amount of neutron can
fit in to a certain volume
15
 Binding Energy per Nucleon Graph

Most
stable
region
Fission

Thus, larger nuclei tend to break into smaller ones to achieve a

higher BE/N, gravitating towards iron-56 – this process is called
nuclear fission
16
 Nuclear Fusion

Definition
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light
nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus

Remember, light nuclei don’t experience fusion spontaneously

In order to produce fusion, an extremely high temperature and

pressure is needed

17
 Nuclear Fusion

Under certain conditions, fusion is possible as long as the final

product has more BE/N (i.e. less mass) than the reactants

One of the best example of fusion is the sun

18
 Nuclear Fission

Definition
Nuclear fission is the process in which massive
nucleus splits to form two or more smaller fragments

Fission fragments have a greater

binding energy per nucleon (i.e. less
mass per nucleon) than the original
nuclide

Fission requires a much lower input

energy than fusion, hence easier to
occur

19
 Summary

Fusion and fission are both processes that release energy,

causing the end product to have higher BE/N

20
 Radioactive Decay

When a nucleus is unstable, it will undergo radioactive decay

Products of radioactive decay include alpha, beta and gamma ray

21
 Discussion

Motivation
Aren’t nuclear fission and radioactive decay the same thing?
They both form a more stable product by emitting something.
How do the nucleus choose which way to go? What’s the
difference between the two?

Decay is a spontaneous event whereby the nucleus discharges

particles or energy. It doesn’t require energy input and there is no
way to affect the decay rate.

Fission, on the other hand, requires an initial energy investment to

occur. Its reaction rate can be accelerated by hitting the nucleus
with fast moving particles such as neutron.

22
 Spontaneous and Random

Definition
Radioactive decay is defined as the spontaneous and
random disintegration of heavy unstable nucleus

The products of the radioactive decay will have higher BE/N

Definition
Spontaneous means the decay is not affected by any
external factors such as temperature or pressure

Random means it is impossible to predict which nucleus

in a sample will decay next. There is a constant
probability that it will decay in a fixed period of time.

23
 Activity

Although predictions on when a nuclei will decay is impossible,

we can estimate which types are more likely to decay

Definition
The activity of a radioactive nucleus is defined as the
rate at which nuclei decay or disintegrate

The higher the activity, the higher the number of nucleus that
will decay per unit time

Activity is measured in Becquerels (Bq), interpreted as the

number of decays per sec (s-1)

When there are more nuclei in a sample, the activity is higher!

24
 Decay Constant

Formulas

𝑨=𝝀 𝑵
Here N is the number of nuclei, and λ is the decay constant,
defined as the probability of decay per unit time

The higher the decay constant, the easier it is for a nucleus to

disintegrate, i.e. higher activity

For example, say the probability of decay for a nucleus is 20%

If a sample has 100 nucleus, A = 20 Bq; if it has 10,000, then A =

2000 Bq!
25
 Half Life

It can be shown* that radioactive decay satisfy the following eq:

Formulas
−𝝀𝒕
𝑵 =𝑵 𝟎 𝒆

The half life of a sample is defined as time taken for the number
to be reduced to half its original number

Formulas
ln 𝟐
𝒕 𝟏 /𝟐=
𝝀
26
Half Life

27
 Example
A sample of phosphorus-32 contains 8.6 x 1012 nuclei at time t = 0.
The decay constant of phosphorus-32 is 4.8 x 10-2 day-1.
(a) Calculate the number of un-decayed phosphorus-32 nuclei in
the sample after 10 days.
(b) Calculate the half-life of phosphorus-32 and determine how
long it takes for it to decay 87.5% of the sample

a)

b)

Only 12.5% of nucleus that is not decayed, i.e. N = 0.125 N0

28
 Worksheet

1. (a) What is the mass defect of K-40 (nuclear mass of 39.95358)?

(b) What is the binding energy of K-40?

2. Food can be preserved by radiation with gamma rays. A y-ray

source has an activity of 21.275 TBq. How many disintegration are
there per minute?

3. lodine-131 has a half-life of 8.1 days. This isotope decays by beta

particle emission. What is the activity of a 2.50 mg sample of the
isotope (atomic mass= 126.9 u)?

4. Pu-239 (nuclear mass of 239.0006 u) decays by alpha emission to

U-235 (nuclear mass of 234.9934). Calculate how much energy (in
MeV) is given off by the decay of 2.00 mg of Pu-239.
29