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Nuclear Binding Energy and Radioactivity

The document discusses nuclear binding energy, explaining that binding energy is released when neutrons and protons form a nucleus, with binding energy per nucleon being nearly constant for medium mass nuclei. It also highlights the attractive nature of nuclear forces and the saturation property, indicating that energy is released during fission and fusion processes. Additionally, it covers the concept of radioactivity, detailing the three types of decay: alpha, beta, and gamma decay.

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7 views11 pages

Nuclear Binding Energy and Radioactivity

The document discusses nuclear binding energy, explaining that binding energy is released when neutrons and protons form a nucleus, with binding energy per nucleon being nearly constant for medium mass nuclei. It also highlights the attractive nature of nuclear forces and the saturation property, indicating that energy is released during fission and fusion processes. Additionally, it covers the concept of radioactivity, detailing the three types of decay: alpha, beta, and gamma decay.

Uploaded by

abcdn1971
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Nuclear binding energy

• If a certain number of neutrons and protons are brought together to form a nucleus of a
certain charge and mass, an energy called binding energy Eb will be released.
• Binding energy per nucleon, Ebn, which is the ratio of the binding energy Eb of a nucleus to
the number of nucleons, A, in that nucleus:
Ebn = Eb / A

• Features of the plot:


(i) The binding energy per nucleon, Ebn, is practically constant, i.e. practically
independent of the atomic number for nuclei of middle mass number ( 30 < A <
170). The curve has a maximum of about 8.75 MeV for A = 56 and has a value of
7.6 MeV for A = 238.
(ii) Ebn is lower for both light nuclei (A<30) and heavy nuclei (A>170).
• Conclusions :
a) The force is attractive and sufficiently strong to produce a binding energy of a few
MeV per nucleon.

b) The constancy of binding energy for nuclei with 30 < A < 170 arises from the
short-range nuclear force. A nucleon can interact with a maximum of p neighbours,
making its binding energy proportional to p. When adding nucleons, the binding
energy for those inside the nucleus remains largely unchanged, as most are not
located on the surface. Thus, the binding energy per nucleon remains constant and
is roughly equal to pk, where k is an energy constant. This limited influence of a
nucleon on its neighbours is known as the saturation property of the nuclear force.

c) A very heavy nucleus, say A = 240, has lower binding energy per nucleon
compared to that of a nucleus with A = 120. Thus, if a nucleus A = 240 breaks into
two A = 120 nuclei, nucleons get more tightly bound. This implies energy would be
released in the process.

d) Consider two very light nuclei (A ≤ 10) joining to form a heavier nucleus. The
binding energy per nucleon of the fused heavier nuclei is more than the binding
energy per nucleon of the lighter nuclei. This means that the final system is more
tightly bound than the initial system. Again, energy would be released in such a
process of fusion.
Radioactivity
• Nuclear phenomenon in which an unstable nucleus undergoes radioactive decay.
• Three types of radioactive decay occur in nature :
(i) alpha-decay in which a helium nucleus is emitted;
(ii) beta-decay in which electrons or positrons (particles with the same mass as
electrons, but with a charge exactly opposite to that of electrons) are emitted;
(iii) gamma-decay in which high-energy (hundreds of keV or more) photons are
emitted.

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