Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

The binding energy per nucleon of a nucleus is \( 8.5 \, \text{MeV} \). What is the total binding energy for a nucleus w

**Nuclear force** strong, short-range ~1 fm, attractive, charge independent, saturated in large nuclei because each nucleon interacts only with neighbors, not all others, so BE/A saturates ~8 MeV, primary factor limiting stable nuclei size is Coulomb repulsion between protons growing as Z² vs strong force saturating, beyond Z≈83 no stable nuclei, competition between Coulomb and strong. Total binding energy = Ebₙ × A . Ebₙ = 8.5 MeV , A = 20 . E_b = 8.5 × 20 = 170 MeV . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

How much energy is equivalent to a mass defect of \( 0.1 \, \text{u} \)? (Given \( 1 \, \text{u} = 931.5 \, \text{MeV/c}

**Stability** belt of stability N≈Z for light, N>Z for heavy due to Coulomb, beyond leads to alpha decay, fission, stability requires balance, nuclear force saturated explains constant density and BE/A. Energy = Δ M · c² . Δ M = 0.1 u . Energy = 0.1 × 931.5 = 93.15 MeV . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields 93.15 MeV, consistent with Bohr model and nuclear binding energy systematics.

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

What is the primary factor limiting the size of stable nuclei?

**Radioactive decay** occurs when nucleus unstable, alpha decay emits He-4, beta decay neutron→proton+electron+antineutrino, gamma decay photon emission, decay law N=N₀ e^{-λt}, half-life T½=ln2/λ, nuclear density ~10¹⁷ kg/m³, nuclear force saturated means BE/A constant for A>20. In large nuclei, the Coulomb repulsion between protons increases with atomic number, counteracting the nuclear force and reducing stability, limiting the size of stable nuclei. Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields Coulomb repulsion, consisten

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

A nucleus with mass number 18 has a binding energy of \( 144 \, \text{MeV} \). What is its binding energy per nucleon?

**Nuclear force** strong, short-range ~1 fm, attractive, charge independent, saturated in large nuclei because each nucleon interacts only with neighbors, not all others, so BE/A saturates ~8 MeV, primary factor limiting stable nuclei size is Coulomb repulsion between protons growing as Z² vs strong force saturating, beyond Z≈83 no stable nuclei, competition between Coulomb and strong. Ebₙ = (E_b/A) . E_b = 144 MeV , A = 18 . Ebₙ = (144/18) = 8.0 MeV . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

A nucleus with mass number 28 has a binding energy of \( 224 \, \text{MeV} \). What is its binding energy per nucleon?

**Stability** belt of stability N≈Z for light, N>Z for heavy due to Coulomb, beyond leads to alpha decay, fission, stability requires balance, nuclear force saturated explains constant density and BE/A. Ebₙ = (E_b/A) . E_b = 224 MeV , A = 28 . Ebₙ = (224/28) = 8.0 MeV . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields 8.0 MeV, consistent with Bohr model and nuclear binding energy systematics.

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

A nucleus has a binding energy of \( 127.5 \, \text{MeV} \) and mass number 16. What is its binding energy per nucleon?

**Radioactive decay** occurs when nucleus unstable, alpha decay emits He-4, beta decay neutron→proton+electron+antineutrino, gamma decay photon emission, decay law N=N₀ e^{-λt}, half-life T½=ln2/λ, nuclear density ~10¹⁷ kg/m³, nuclear force saturated means BE/A constant for A>20. Ebₙ = (E_b/A) . E_b = 127.5 MeV , A = 16 . Ebₙ = (127.5/16) ≈ 7.97 MeV ≈ 8 MeV . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields 8.0 MeV, consistent with Bohr model and nuclear binding energy systematics.

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

What is the radius of a nucleus with mass number 16? (Given \( R_0 = 1.2 \times 10^{-15} \, \text{m} \))

**Nuclear force** strong, short-range ~1 fm, attractive, charge independent, saturated in large nuclei because each nucleon interacts only with neighbors, not all others, so BE/A saturates ~8 MeV, primary factor limiting stable nuclei size is Coulomb repulsion between protons growing as Z² vs strong force saturating, beyond Z≈83 no stable nuclei, competition between Coulomb and strong. The radius of a nucleus is given by R = R₀ A¹/³ , where A = 16 . A¹/³ = 16¹/³ = (2⁴)¹/³ = 2⁴/³ ≈ 2.52 . R = 1.2 × 10⁻¹⁵ × 2.52 ≈ 3.0 × 10⁻¹⁵ m . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n²

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

What is the nuclear density of a nucleus with mass \( 3.67 \times 10^{-27} \, \text{kg} \) and radius \( 2.0 \times 10^{

**Stability** belt of stability N≈Z for light, N>Z for heavy due to Coulomb, beyond leads to alpha decay, fission, stability requires balance, nuclear force saturated explains constant density and BE/A. Density = (mass/volume) , Volume = (4/3) π R³ . R³ = (2.0 × 10⁻¹⁵)³ = 8.0 × 10⁻⁴⁵ m³ . Volume = (4/3) × 3.14 × 8.0 × 10⁻⁴⁵ ≈ 3.35 × 10⁻⁴⁴ m³ . Density = (3.67 × 10⁻²⁷/3.35 × 10⁻⁴⁴) ≈ 1.10 × 10¹⁷ kg/m³ . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

A nucleus with mass number 12 has a binding energy of \( 96 \, \text{MeV} \). What is its binding energy per nucleon?

**Nuclear force** strong, short-range ~1 fm, attractive, charge independent, saturated in large nuclei because each nucleon interacts only with neighbors, not all others, so BE/A saturates ~8 MeV, primary factor limiting stable nuclei size is Coulomb repulsion between protons growing as Z² vs strong force saturating, beyond Z≈83 no stable nuclei, competition between Coulomb and strong. Ebₙ = (E_b/A) . E_b = 96 MeV , A = 12 . Ebₙ = (96/12) = 8.0 MeV . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

Why is the nuclear force considered saturated in large nuclei?

**Stability** belt of stability N≈Z for light, N>Z for heavy due to Coulomb, beyond leads to alpha decay, fission, stability requires balance, nuclear force saturated explains constant density and BE/A. The nuclear force is short-ranged, affecting only a fixed number of neighboring nucleons, so adding more nucleons in large nuclei does not proportionally increase the binding energy, leading to saturation. Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields Limited range of interaction, consistent with Bohr model and nuclear binding

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

A nucleus with mass number 36 has a binding energy of \( 288 \, \text{MeV} \). What is its binding energy per nucleon?

**Nuclear force** strong, short-range ~1 fm, attractive, charge independent, saturated in large nuclei because each nucleon interacts only with neighbors, not all others, so BE/A saturates ~8 MeV, primary factor limiting stable nuclei size is Coulomb repulsion between protons growing as Z² vs strong force saturating, beyond Z≈83 no stable nuclei, competition between Coulomb and strong. Ebₙ = (E_b/A) . E_b = 288 MeV , A = 36 . Ebₙ = (288/36) = 8.0 MeV . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields

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Radioactive Decay, Nuclear Forces and Stability

A nucleus with mass number 100 has a binding energy of \( 850 \, \text{MeV} \). What is its binding energy per nucleon?

**Stability** belt of stability N≈Z for light, N>Z for heavy due to Coulomb, beyond leads to alpha decay, fission, stability requires balance, nuclear force saturated explains constant density and BE/A. Ebₙ = (E_b/A) . E_b = 850 MeV , A = 100 . Ebₙ = (850/100) = 8.5 MeV . Using E_n = -13.6/n² eV, r_n = n² a₀, L = n h/2π, R = R₀ A^¹/³, BE = Δm c² and 1 u = 931.5 MeV, evaluation yields 8.5 MeV, consistent with Bohr model and nuclear binding energy systematics.

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