D EPARTMENT OF P HYSICS , C OLORADO S CHOOL OF M INES

PHGN 422: Nuclear Physics – Assignment 1

Due: September 26, 5:00pm

Download the supplemental material from the course website:

[Link]/∼kleach/PHGN422

1 U NIT AND D IMENSION M ANIPULATION

In nuclear physics, we typically deal with energy and length scales of MeV (106 eV) and fm
(10−15 m), respectively.

1.1 U NIT C ONVERSION

Express the following constants in [MeV·fm] starting from SI units (the way the constants are
typically defined). Make sure to show all steps in your calculation.
1. hc

2. ~c
e2
3. 4π²0

Hint: 1 Joule = 6.24 × 1018 eV

1.2 F UNDAMENTAL D IMENSIONLESS C ONSTANTS

2
e
1. Taking your values from above in MeV·fm, calculate the fine structure constant α = ~c·4π² 0
.
Make sure to show all steps in your calculation.

2. Which of the four fundamental interaction has its strength determined by α?

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 2 N UCLEAR B INDING E NERGY AND ATOMIC M ASSES
Part of understanding nuclear physics is sorting through large amounts of data to extract key
pieces of information that are relevant to the problem at hand. Included with this assignment
(as supplemental material) is part of the 2012 Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME), which tabulates
the known information on all atomic masses. Although experimental uncertainties play a sig-
nificant role in atomic mass data, we will not use them in this assignment. I have altered this
table so that it is formatted in the following way:

N Z A Chemical Symbol Atomic Mass (10−6 u)

Use the included information and what we have discussed in class about binding energy and
masses to solve the problems below.

2.1 T HE ATOMIC M ASS

1. List the atomic masses for the following nuclei (in u) extracted from the table provided:
40
Ca, 41 Ca, 42 Ca, 41 Sc, 42 Ti.

2. Convert these values to MeV/c 2 , showing all of your calculations.

2.2 M ASS E XCESS AND B INDING E NERGIES

1. Determine the mass excess, ∆, for each case above.

2. Calculate the nuclear binding energy for each case above, then extract the binding energy
per nucleon (B E /A).

3. What do you notice about B E /A for the evaluated nuclei?

2.3 N UCLEON S EPARATION E NERGIES

The proton and neutron separation energies (S p and S n ) indicate how much energy is required
to remove the respective nucleon from a given nucleus.

1. Calculate the following quantities:

S n (41 Ca), S 2n (42 Ca), S p (41 Sc), and S 2p (42 Ti).

2. Now calculate S n (40 Ca) and S p (40 Ca).

3. Compare the other separation energies to the ones you obtained for 40 Ca. What are your
conclusions about 40 Ca?

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 3 E XAMINING THE C HART OF THE N UCLIDES
For this problem, use the interactive chart of the nuclides found on the National Nuclear Data
Center website: [Link]

The interactive chart of the nuclides can be navigated by clicking on individual nuclei, or by en-
tering a specific nucleus in the textbox on the right, and zooming in with the numbers. Familiar-
izing yourself with this database by exploring some features is a good way to start this problem.
If you get stuck, the help feature on the bottom right contains an excellent walkthrough of the
features.

3.1 N AVIGATING THE N UCLEAR C HART

Starting from 208 Pb, execute the following instructions and answer the questions:

1. Including 208 Pb, how many stable isotopes of Pb are there? What are their mass numbers?

2. How many isotopes of Pb are there after 208 Pb until you reach the neutron-rich limit of
what is on this chart?
208
3. How many isotones of N = 126 are there below Pb until you reach the neutron-rich
limit of what is on this chart?

4. What would the N = Z isotope of Pb be? Does it exist on this chart?

3.2 E XPLORING THE N UCLEAR C HART

After navigating the chart near Pb, we will now go lighter...and with less guidance.

1. What is the last stable N = Z nucleus? ( Hint: A < 50)

Bonus: What else can you say about this nucleus based on a previous question in this as-
signment?

2. Where is the proton dripline located for Si? (ie. What is its A)

3. What do you generally notice about the amount of information available on each nucleus
on the proton dripline relative to the neutron dripline ?

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 4 T HE D E B ROGLIE WAVELENGTH OF PARTICLES
The goal of this exercise is to derive an expression for the De Broglie wavelength of relativistic
particles and apply it in two cases.

1. Show that the momentum (p) of a relativistic particle can be expressed as a function of its
kinetic energy (K ), the speed of light (c), and its rest mass energy mc 2 .

2. Deduce an expression for the De Broglie wavelength with relativistic particles.

4.1 C ASE 1: T HE E LECTRON

1. Simplify the expression you determined above for the case when K À mc 2 .

2. Using this simplification, calculate the De Broglie Wavelength (in m) of an electron with
K = 50 MeV. Recall: m e = 0.511 MeV/c 2 .

3. Is this a reasonable energy to probe the nucleus? Why or why not?

4.2 C ASE 2: T HE P ROTON

1. Show that the expression you derived for relativistic particles reduces to the expected clas-
sical formula when K ¿ mc 2 .

2. Using this simplification, calculate the De Broglie Wavelength (in m) of a proton with K =
1 MeV. Recall: m p = 938.3 MeV/c 2 .

3. Is this a reasonable energy to probe the nucleus? Why or why not?

R EFERENCES
1. The AME12 Atomic Mass Evaluation. [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link],
[Link], and B. Pfeiffer, Chinese Physics C 36, 1287, (2012).