Fundamentals
Define Isotope
an atom that has the same number of protons (or the same atomic number) as other atoms of the same element do but that has a different number of neutrons (and thus a different atomic mass)
This is the number of neutrons found in Pb-206.
What is 124 neutrons?
What are the types of radiation?
Alpha, Beta, Gamma
This occurs when a heavy nucleus splits into two lighter nuclei.
What is fission?
Describe particle physics.
What is particle physics seeks to discover the ultimate structure of matter: elementary particles. Elementary particles, which are the fundamental units that compose matter, do not appear to be divisible and have neither size nor structure.
Define Strong Force
The force responsible for binding of neutrons and protons into the nuclei.
These are the symbols used for atomic mass number, number of protons, and number of neutrons.
What are A for atomic mass number, Z for atomic number, and N for number of neutrons?
This is how a radioactive isotope emitting an alpha particle changes.
What is the mass number is decreased by four and the atomic number is decreased by two?
This occurs when two or more nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus.
What is fusion?
These are the four fundamental forces.
What are strong, electromagnetic, weak, and gravitational?
Define Binding Energy
the energy that holds the protons together in the nucleus of an atom
As the number of protons in the nucleus increases, the repulsive force does this.
What is becomes stronger?
A beta decay produces these types of particles.
What are an Electron/Positron and neutrino/antineutrino?
To control a chain reaction in nuclear fission, this happens with the neutrons.
What is a material that is non-fissionable absorbs the neutrons?
What are 6 quarks and 6 leptons?
What is nuclear decay
When hundreds of others are unstable and tend to break apart into other particles.
Heavy nuclei are most stable under this condition.
What are when there are more neutrons than protons?
What is gamma composed of?
Photon
This is the description for how the binding energy per nucleons vary in a fission reaction.
What is the binding energy per nucleon decreases as the atomic number increases?
This is the number of quarks needed to create a hadron.
What is 3 for a baryon and 2 for a meson?
Define Half-life
the time required for half of a sample of a radioactive isotope to break down by radioactive decay to form a daughter isotope
Daily Double: Calculate the binding energy of the iron-56 nucleus.
(c2=931.49 MeV/u; atomic mass of 5626Fe=55.934940 u; atomic mass of 11H=1.007825 u; mn=1.008665 u)
What is 492.26 MeV?
This is the number of half-lives required to allow a substance to radioactively deca to 12.5 percent of its original amount.
Wat is 3?
This is the reason we do not opperate our nuclear reactors with fusion reactions.
What is it requires a very large amount of energy to get started and the fuel must be processed?
Daily Double: How do leptons differ from hadrons?
What is leptons appear to be fundamental, meanting they do not break down in to smaller particles, whereas hadrons are particles made from combinations of smaller particles called quarks?