Introduction

Most of the physical and chemical properties of matter which we are

familiar with are a result of the number and configuration of atomic
electrons.
That’s why we have spent most of the course to date concentrating
topics related to atomic electrons.
Nevertheless, atomic nuclei are vitally important for a number of
reasons, including:
The number of electrons an atom can have depends on how many
protons the nuclei has. Thus, the nucleus plays a large, if indirect,
role in determining atomic structure.
Most of the energies liberated in everyday processes involve
nuclear reactions.

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Several problems the nucleus presents

For example, consider this problem:

Take two protons at their approximate separation in the nucleus.
Calculate the repulsive Coulomb energy between them.

e2
V = = (1.6 × 10−19 )2 (9 × 109 )(1015 )J ∼ 1.4 × 106 eV = 1.4M eV
4πǫ0 r
(1)
That’s a large repulsive potential.
Now imagine the repulsive Coulomb energy for several dozen protons
packed tightly into a nucleus. We have a major problem here. How can
a nucleus stick together?
A logical guess is that the nucleus contains electrons, which reduce the
Coulomb repulsion.

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Nuclear Composition: electrons in the nucleus ?

It is quite logical to assume that nuclei contain electrons. For

example, a good guess might be that half of an atom’s electrons
are contained within the nucleus, and reduce the electrostatic
repulsive forces between protons.
Besides the Coulomb repulsion mentioned above, facts which
suggest the nucleus might contain electrons are nuclide masses,
which are nearly multiples of the hydrogen mass (which contains
an electron).
In addition, some nuclei undergo beta decay, in which an electon is
spontaneously emitted from the nucleus.

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Electrons in the nucleus ? No. reason 1
Experiments demonstrate that the nucleus cannot contain electrons.
Reasons.
Nuclear size:
Letting ∆x = 5.0 × 10−15 m, we have

h̄ 1.05 × 10−34 J.s

∆p ≥ ≥ ≥ 1.1 × 10−20 kg.m/sec (2)
2∆x (2)5.0 × 10−15 m
If this is the uncertainty in a nuclear electrons momentum, the
momentum p itself must be at least comparable in magnitude.

KE = pc ≥ 1.1 × 10−20 × 3 × 108 ≥ 3.3 × 10−12 J ≈ 20M eV (3)

The kinetic energy of an electron must exceed 20 MeV if it is to be
inside a nucleus. Experiments show that the electrons emitted by
certain unstable nuclei never have more than a small fraction of this
energy, from which we conclude that nuclei cannot contain electrons.
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Electrons in the nucleus ? No. reason 2

Nuclear spin:
Electrons and protons both have spins of 1/2. A deuteron (an isotope
of hydrogen) is known to have a mass roughly equal to two protons.
If the deuteron nucleus contains two protons and one electron (whose
mass is small enough to not worry about here), then the deuterium
should have a nuclear spin of ± 12 or ± 3/2.
The deuterium nuclear spin is measured to be 1. Its nucleus cannot
contain an electron.

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Electrons in the nucleus ? No. reason 3

Nuclear magnetic moments.

Electrons have magnetic moments about 6 times larger than protons.
If electrons are part of the nucleus, its nuclei magnetic moment ought
to be of the order of magnitude that of the elctron.
Observed nuclear magnetic moments are comparable to proton
magnetic moments.
Nuclei cannot contain electrons.

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Electrons in the nucleus ? No. reason 4

Electron-nuclear interactions.
The energies binding nuclear particles together are observed to be very
large, on the order of 8 MeV per particle.
Remember that atomic electronic binding energies are of the order eV
to a few keV.
Why, then, can some atomic electrons ”escape” from being bound
inside the nucleus? In other words, if you allow any electrons to be
bound inside the nucleus, you really must require all of them to.
Of course, it is obvious to us that nuclei don’t contain
electrons.
But that’s mainly because we’ve been taught that way for so long.
If we were starting from scratch 60 years ago, we would probably try to
”put” electrons inside nuclei.

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Nuclear structure

Atomic structure: Electron and Nucleus

Force that holds nucleons together stronger than the force that
holds the electrons in an atom.
Energy involved in change in electron structure of the atom order
of eV , whereas for the nuclear structure order of MeV: million
times larger.
Protons and neutrons: Nucleons.
Number of protons in the nucleus: Atomic number.

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Isotopes

Elements of same atomic number can contain different number of

neutrons in their nuclei: Isotopes.
e.g. Hydrogen: ordinary hydrogen, deuterium (heavy water) and
tritium.

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Properties of isotopes

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Atomic Masses

Conventional symbol for nuclear species: A

Z X.
X ≡ Chemical symbol of the element.
Z ≡ Atomic number (No. of the protons) of the element.
A ≡ Mass number (Number of nucleons) in the nucleus.
e.g. Chlorine: 35 Cl, 37 Cl.
17 17
Atomic mass = mass of the neutral atom = Mass of its nucleons +
mass of electrons.
Expressed in atomic mass unit,u: 1u = 1.66054 × 10−27 kg.
Mass of 12 C is exactly 12u.
6

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Units of atomic Masses

Masses can be expressed in various units.

Energy equivalent of mass unit is 931.49MeV.

e.g. For a mass 10 MeV /c2 , energy equivalent is,
E = mc2 = 10MeV.

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Size of the Nucleus

Variety of experiments were performed to determine the nuclear

dimensions.
Two famous particle scattering process: neutrons and fast
electrons.
Electron scattering: information on distribution of charge
Neutron scattering: information on distribution of nuclear matter.
Result:Volume of a nucleus is directly proportional to its mass
number, A.
4 3 3
For nuclear radius R, volume : 3 πR , R ∝ A.
R = R0 A1/3
R0 ∼ 1.2 × 10−15 m ∼ 1.2 fm.
e.g. Radius of 12 C ∼ R0 × (12)1/3 ∼ 2.7 fm.
6

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Spin and Magnetic Moment

Protons and neutrons are fermions;

they have spin quantum number: s = 1/2, ms = ±1/2.
where ms : spin magnetic quantum number.
√
3
p
Spin angular momentum of magnitude: s(s + 1)~ = 2 ~.
magnetic moments are associated with the spins of proton and
neutron and is expressed in terms of nuclear magneton:
e~
µN = 2m P
= 5.05 × 10−27 J/T = 3.152 × 10−8 eV/T
Bohr magneton:
e~
µB = 2m e
= 9.274 × 10−24 J/T = 5.788 × 10−5 eV/T
The spin magnetic moments of the proton: µpz = ±2.793µN .
The spin magnetic moments of the neutron: µnz = ∓1.913µN .
Nuclear magneton < Bohr magneton.
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Spin and Magnetic Moment

Two possibilities for the sign of µpz and µnz .

Neutron has no net charge, but has spin magnetic moment.

Assume neutron contains equal amount of positive and negative
charge.

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Magnetic energy

Magnetic energy of a nucleus Um = −µz B

splitting of each angular momentum state happens by a magnetic
field like Zeeman effect.
Um is negative when µz is in same direction of B and otherwise.

Energy difference between sub levels : ∆E = 2µpz B

A photon will be emitted when a proton in upper state flips its
spin to lower state and absorbed when a lower state can be raised
to the upper state.
2µpz B
Larmor frequency of the photons: νL = h .

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Nuclear Magetic Resonance

Suppose some sample contain nuclei with spin 1/2 in a magnetic

field B.
spin of most of the sample will align parallel to B bcz this is the
lowest energy state.
If we supply energy with Larmour frequency νL to the sample, the
nuclei will receive right amount of energy and flip to higher states
(spin down). This phenomenon is called nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR)

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Exercise

Find the energy difference between the spin-up and

spin-down states of a proton in a magnetic field of B = 1.00T..
What is the Larmor frequency of a proton in this field ?
Ans.
The energy difference is ∆E = 2µpz B =
(2)(2.793)(3.153 × 10−8 eV /T )(1.00T ) = 1.761 × 10−7 eV
The Larmour frequency of the proton in this field is
νL = ∆E 1.761×10−7 eV 7
h = 4.136×10−15 eV.s = 4.258 × 10 Hz.

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Why some combination of neutrons and protons are more stable than
others ?

Light nuclei (A < 20) contain

equal number of neutrons and
protons.
In heavier nuclei the
proportion of neutrons
becomes progressively greater.
The tendency for N = Z:
existence of nuclear energy
levels.
Nucleons are spin-1/2 particle:
obey Pauli’s exclusion
principle.

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Each nuclear energy level can contain two neutrons of opposite
spin and two protons of opposite spin.
Energy levels are filled in sequence.
12 B has more energy than 12 C, hence unstable.
5 6

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Moreover..
Protons are positively charged and repel each other electrically.
For nuclei Z > 10, excess neutrons are required to produce only
attractive force.
As Z increases the curve departs from N = Z line.(Refer to the
fig.)
Sixty percent even-even nuclide are stable: Even Z and even N .
Other nuclei are either even-odd or odd-even.
Only five stable odd-odd nuclei: 21 H, 63 Li, 10 Be, 14 N , 180 T a.
5 7 73

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Nuclear Decay
All nuclei Z > 83 and A > 209 spontaneously transform into
lighter ones.

For nuclei having too large or too small neutron/proton ratio for
stability
Beta decay n0 −→ p+ + e−
In positive beta decay
Positron emission p+ −→ n0 + e+
Nuclear proton absorbs an electron
Electron capture p+ + e− −→ n0

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Binding Energy

For deuterium 21 H: expected mass =

Mass of hydrogen + mass of neutron,
2.016490u.
But measured value, 2.014102u.
Energy equivalent of missing energy,
∆E = (0.002388u)(931.49M eV /u) =
2.224M eV.
Energy required to break apart
deuterium nucleus = 2.224 MeV.
Energy (more than ∆E),→ K.E of
neutron and proton.

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 Energy equivalent of missing mass of a nucleus: Binding Energy.
Greater the Binding Energy, more the energy must be supplied to
break up the nucleus.
The binding energy of Eb of the nucleus, A
Z X, having N − Z
neutrons,
Eb = [Zm(11 H) + N m(n) − m(A Z X)](932)(MeV/u).

Exercise
The binding energy of the neon isotope, 20 N e is 160.647MeV. Find its
10
atomic mass.

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Binding energy per nucleon

Binding energy per nucleon = Total binding energy

Number of nucleons .
The greater the binding energy per nucleon, more stable is the
nucleus.
Peak is at A = 4 corresponds to 42 He. Alpha particle.
At A = 56 binding energy per nucleon is highest. 5626 F e, Iron
isotope
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Two important observations
If we can split the a heavy nucleus inti two medium sized ones,
each will have more binding energy per nucleon than the original
nucleus. The extra energy will be given off: Nuclear fission
Joining two light nuclei together to give a single nucleus of
medium size means more binding energy per nucleon: Nuclear
fusion effective way to obtain energy.
Exercise
Find the energy needed to remove a neutron from the nucleus of
the calcium isotope 42
20 Ca.
Find the energy needed to remove a proton from the nucleus.
Why are these energies different ?

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Strong Interaction
It is a short-range attractive force between nucleons.
It is powerful enough to overcome the electric force of repulsion
between two protons.
Between proton-proton, proton-neutron, neutron-neutron, the
strong interaction is always attractive.
This is what holds the nucleons together in a nucleus.

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Liquid drop Model
Nuclear force is the strongest type of force known.
But it is less understood unlike electromagnetic force.
Up to a separation about 3fm, the nuclear attraction between
protons is about 100 times stronger than the electric repulsion.
Nuclear interactions among different nuclei are identical.
As a first approximation think of each nucleon in a nucleus
interacting only with the nearest neighbors.
Think of the situation as an analogy with liquid.

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Liquid drop model

Volume energy: This is due to the short range attraction

between nucleons. This nuclear energy is proportional to the
volume.
Surface energy: Correction term to previous assumption of
volume energy.
Coulomb energy: Repulsive potential energy from each pair of
protons.
Asymmetry energy: Unequal numbers of neutrons and protons
imply filling higher energy levels for one type of particle, while
leaving lower energy levels vacant for the other type.
Pairing energy: Which accounts for the tendency of proton pairs
and neutron pairs to occur. An even number of particles is more
stable than an odd number due to spin coupling.

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Liquid drop model

Accounts for observed variation of binding energy per nucleon

with mass number.
Assume : Energy associated with each nucleon-nucleon bond is U .
The force is attractive, energy should be negative.
Usually written positive because binding energy is considered
positive.

Each bond energy shared by two nucleons, so each nucleon has

bond energy, U/2.

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Liquid drop model

Each interior sphere has 12 spheres in contact. so each interior

nucleon has energy 6U .
Total number of nucleons is A. If all of them are in the interior of
the nucleus total B.E.
Volume Energy : Ev = a1 A, a1 = 6U
But not all the nucleons are in the interior. Some are on the
surface, hence less than 12 neighbors.
Number of such nucleons depends on the surface area, since
surface area = 4πR2 = AπR0 A2/3 .
So number of surface nucleons ∝ A2/3 .
They will reduce the total B.E by
Surface Energy : Es = −a2 A2/3

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Liquid drop model

Es is significant for lighter nuclei since most of its nucleons are on

the surface.
The electric repulsion between each pair of protons contribute
towards decreasing B.E.
e2
Potential Energy of a pair : V = − 4πǫ 0r
For Z protons Z(Z − 1)/2 pairs.
2
Coulomb Energy : Ec = − Z(Z−1)e
8πǫ0 ( 1r )av .
If the protons are uniformly distributed throughout the nucleus of
radius R, ( 1r )av ∝ R1
2
Coulomb Energy : Ec = −a3 Z(Z−1)
A1/3
, a3 = 8πǫe0 R0 .
Coulomb energy is negative because it arises from the effect that
opposes nuclear stability.

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 Total binding Energy, Eb
Eb = Ev + Es + Ec =
a1 A − a2 A2/3 − a3 Z(Z−1)
A1/3
Binding energy per nucleon
Eb a2 Z(Z−1)
A = a1 − A1/3 − a3 A4/3 .
Theoretical curve matching
well with empirical one.
Analogy between nucleus and
liquid drop has validity.
The above binding-energy formula can be improved by taking into
account two effects that do not fit into the simple liquid-drop model
but which make sense in terms of a model that provides for nuclear
energy levels.

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Liquid drop Model: Correction to the formula

Asymmetry Term: When neutrons out number proton.

Imagine that the neutrons and protons are in

a potential well (the nucleus). Assume that
the well has approximately equally spaced
energy levels ǫ.
Neutrons and protons are fermions(spin half
particles). So, the Pauli exclusion principle
allows only 2p and 2n in each level.
For a nucleus with a given A, the lowest
energy will be when N = Z.

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 Liquid drop Model: Correction to the formula

Asymmetry Term: When neutrons out number proton.

If we change a neutron to a proton (via beta

decay), we increase the energy by 1ǫ from
Z=N, lowest energy state
Z-N= 0 case.(Now Z-N= 2)

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Liquid drop Model: Correction to the formula
Asymmetry Term: When neutrons out number proton.
If we change another neutron to a proton, we
increase the energy by ǫ for a total change of
2ǫ from Z-N= 0 case. Now Z-N= 4

Another neutron to a proton, we increase the

energy by 3ǫ for a total change of 5ǫ from Z-N
= 0 case. Now Z-N=6

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∆E = 8ǫ (A − 2Z)2 .
The greater the no. of nucleons in a nucleus,
smaller is the energy level spacing.
Asymmetry Energy :
2
Ea = −∆E = −a4 (A−2Z) A .
Asymmetry energy is negative because it
reduces the B.E. of the nucleus.

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Liquid drop Model: Correction to the formula

The last correction: Neutron pairs and proton pairs to occur

Even-even nuclei are mist stable, have higher binding energy. e.g.
4 He,12 C,16 O.
2 6 8
Odd-odd nuclei have both unpaired protons ans neutrons and have
low binding energy.
Pairing energy seems to vary with A as A−3/4 .
Pairing Energy : Ep = (±, 0) Aa3/4
5

Positive for even-even nuclei, negative for odd-odd nuclei and zero
for odd-even and even-odd nuclei.

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Semi-empirical Formula:
Now collecting all the terms the Semiempirical binding Energy
2
formula is Eb = a1 − Aa1/3
2
− a3 Z(Z−1)
A4/3
− a4 (A−2Z)
A (±, 0) Aa3/4
5

A set of coefficients that fits with the data

a1 = 14.1MeV, a2 = 13.0MeV, a3 = 0.595MeV, a4 = 19.0MeV,
a5 = 33.5MeV.
EX.: The atomic mass of zinc isotope 64 30 Zn is 63.929u. Compare its
binding energy with the prediction of Eb from Liquid drop model.
Eb = [Zm(11 H) + N m(n) − m(A Z X)](932)(MeV/u).

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Semiempirical binding Energy formula is
2
Eb = a1 − Aa1/3
2
− a3 Z(Z−1)
A4/3
− a4 (A−2Z)
A (±, 0) Aa3/4
5

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Shell Model

An explanation for the magic numbers in the nucleus.

Nuclei that have 2, 8, 20, 28, 50 and 126 neutrons or protons are
more abundant,More stable.
The numbers are called Magic number.
Nuclei of magic N and Z are found to have zero quadrupole
moment: spherical shape.
Other nuclei distorted shape: positive moment → football shape,
negative moment → pumpkin shape.
Shell model attempts to account for the magic number of the
nucleus.
Maria Goeppert Mayer and J.H.D. Jensen received nobel prize in
1963 for Shell theory.

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Meson theory of nuclear forces

Nucleons being held together by the exchange of particle.

Heisenberg: Electrons and positrons shift back and forth between
nucleons.
For e.g. a neutron might emit an electron and become a proton
while a proton might absorb an electron to become neutron.
Calculations showed that the forces resulting from electron and
positron exchange by nucleons is too small by the factor of 1014 to
be significant in nuclear structure.
Hideki Yukawa : Pions are responsible for nuclear forces.
Intermediate in mass between electrons and neutrons. May be
charged or may be neutral: π + , π − , π 0
Also known as π meson.

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Every nucleon continually emits or
reabsorbs pions.
If another nucleon is nearby an
emitted pion may shift across to it
instead of returning to its parent
nucleon.
The associated transfer of momentum
is equivalent to the action of force.
Nuclear forces are repulsive at very
short range and attractive at larger
nuclear distances.
Meson theory accounts for both these
properties.

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A fundamental problem: Nucleons are constantly emitting or
absorbing pions. So, one should detect neutrons/protons with
other than their usual mass ?
Answer is based upon uncertainty principle.
The emission of pion by a nucleon that does not change in mass:
clear violation of energy conservation principle.
Possible if the nucleon reabsorbs/absorbs the pion so soon that in
principle it is impossible to determine change of mass has actually
been involved.
Uncertainty principle : ∆E∆t ≥ ~2 .

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Pion travels between nucleons
with speed v ∼ c.
Temporary energy discrepancy
∆E ∼ mπ c2 .
Time needed for pion to travel
a maximum nuclear range r,
∆t = rc
~
So mπ ∼ rc ∼ 2 × 10−28 kg.
A dozen years after Yukawa’s
proposal, particles with the
properties he had predicted
were actually discovered.
Yukawa received nobel prize in
1963.

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