Basic Nuclear Properties

V. H. Thakkar
 Outline
 Introduction
 Nuclear Radius
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 Introduction
 Who discovered nucleus and when?
 Do you know how is the word “nucleus” originated?
 Nucleus is the core or central part of the atom
 Core is also known as “kernel”
 And the Latin word for kernel is nucleus
 Our aim is to discuss the basic nuclear structure
 To discuss the structure of the nucleus, we require to
discuss some of its properties
 Introduction
 A nucleus is symbolically represented by ZA X
where Z stands for atomic number, A for atomic mass and X
is the chemical symbol of the element of this nucleus
 The difference between A and Z is called the neutron
number (N) of the nucleus  N  A  Z
 A word nucleon is a generic name used to refer to either a
proton or a neutron, the particle of the nucleus
 Each nuclear species with a given Z and A is called a nuclide
 Introduction
 The dependence of the chemical properties on N is
negligible
 Note that the mass number is not the same as the mass
 Justify it
 A totally different approach is required when we try to
specify the overall characteristics of the entire nucleus
 Let us see how
 Introduction
 A nucleus can be described by the following parameters:
electric charge, radius, mass, binding energy, angular
momentum, parity, magnetic dipole moment, electric
quadrupole moment and energies of excited states
 These are also called the static properties of a nucleus
 Its dynamic properties include decay and reaction
probabilities which will be discussed later on
 Nuclear Radius
 It was first estimated by Rutherford during the theoretical
explanation of Geiger-Marsden experiment
 He found an expression for how close an alpha particle
moving toward the nucleus can come before being turned
around by the Coulomb force during head on collision
 Nuclear Radius
 At that time, the KE of the particle is completely converted
into PE
 Suppose it happens when the distance between the two
particles is d which gives an upper limit for the size of the
nucleus
 Nuclear Radius
 Particles (electrons, protons, neutrons, and alphas) scatter
when projected close to the nucleus
 d is also called distance of closest approach
 Hence, at the distance of closest approach, we can write
1 2 q1q2 q1q2
mv  k  d  2k 2
2 d mv
 For gold, he found d = 3.2  10-14 m
 Nuclear Radius
 Rutherford concluded that the range of the nuclear force
must be less than about 10−14 m
 A graph of nuclear charge density vs. distance from the
center of the nucleus is shown in the figure
 Give your conclusions
 Nuclear Radius
 One of them is that the nucleus is not completely spherical
 How?
 In fact, neither atoms nor nuclei are solid spheres with
abrupt boundaries
 Nuclear Radius
 But we can approximate it to be spherical and discuss
nuclear radius (R)
 The radius that we measure depends on the kind of
experiment we are doing to measure the nuclear shape
 Two different types of radii of nuclei are measured
 They are called charge radius and potential radius
 Nuclear Radius
 In the experiments, such as high-energy electron scattering,
muonic X rays, optical and X-ray isotope shifts and energy
differences of mirror nuclei, we measure the Coulomb
interaction of a charged particle with the nucleus
 These experiments would then determine the distribution
of nuclear charge and hence, will measure the charge radius
of the nucleus
 Nuclear Radius
 In some other experiments, such as Rutherford scattering, a
decay, and pionic X-rays, we measure the strong nuclear
interaction of nuclear particles, and we would determine
the distribution of nucleons, called the distribution of
nuclear matter
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 Usual means of determining the size and shape of an object
is to examine the radiation scattered from it and that is
what exactly we do when we look at an object or try to take
its photograph
 An important criterion to see the object and its details is
that the wavelength of the radiation must be smaller than
the dimensions of the object; otherwise the effects of
diffraction will partially or completely obscure the image
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 Following this criterion, to “see” a nucleus, having a
diameter of about 10 fm, we require a “radiation” for which
l  10 fm, corresponding to p  100 MeV/c
 How to get such a “radiation”?
 Here comes the use of electron as a wave
 Beams of electrons with energies 100 MeV to 1 GeV can be
used for such purposes
 They are obtained from high-energy particle accelerators
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 The electron beams received from
high-energy accelerators can be
analyzed with a precise
spectrometer to select only those
electrons that are elastically
scattered from the selected nuclear
target
 The results of such an experiment
are shown in the figure
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 This is just like the first minimum of
the diffraction pattern
 The resulting estimates for the
nuclear radii are 2.6 fm for l6O and
2.3 fm for I2C
 This is of course only a rough
estimate of the nuclear radius
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 The results of elastic
scattering from a heavy
nucleus, 208Pb, are shown in
the figure
 More than one minima in the
diffraction-like pattern can be
seen
 Of course, These minima do
not fall to zero like diffraction
minima
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 Why?
 That is because the nucleus
does not have a sharp
boundary
 The quantitative discussion of
this problem leads to better
results
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 The results are shown in the figure
 One remarkable conclusion we can have from the figure
 What is it?
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 The nuclear charge density at the center of the nucleus is
nearly the same for all nuclei
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 It can be approximated that the distribution of nucleons
within the nucleus is fairly constant
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 Hence, the number of nucleons per unit volume, i.e., the
number density of nucleons, is almost constant
 So, if R is taken as the mean nuclear radius, then
A 4 3
 constant  A  constant  R
4 3 3
R
3
1 1

R A 3  R  Ro A 3
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 The value of Ro, the constant proportionality in this
equation, depends on the method used to determine the
nuclear radius
 For example, from electron scattering measurements, it
turns out to be  1.2 fm

1
 R  Ro A 3
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 Let us go back to the figure once again
 It shows that the charge density is roughly constant up to a
certain point and then gradually decreases to zero
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 The distance over which this drop occurs is nearly
independent of the size of the nucleus and is usually taken
to be constant
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 Then a parameter, called skin thickness (t), is defined as the
distance over which the charge density falls from 90% to
10% of its maximum value
 It is also shown in the figure
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 The figure shows the results
based on electron scattering
experiments
 The rms radius, <r2>½, is
deduced directly from the
distribution of scattered
electrons; for a uniformly
charged sphere <r2> =
(3/5)R2, where R is the
radius of the sphere
 The Distribution of Nuclear Charge
 The figure also shows that
the dependence of R on
A1/3 is approximately valid
over the range from the
lightest to the heaviest
nuclei
 The slope of the line gives
Ro = 1.23 fm