In the name of Allah

Chapter 16

Radioactivity
 Learning outcomes
You should be able to:
describe the nuclear model of the atom and the evidence for it
represent nuclides using their nucleon and proton numbers
use a simple quark model to describe protons and neutrons
appreciate that electrons and neutrinos are leptons
 show an understanding of the nature and properties of α-, β-
and –radiations
 Looking inside the atom
 The idea that matter is composed of very small particles called
atoms was first suggested by the Greeks some 2000years ago.

 Itwas the English scientist J.J. Thomson who suggested that

the atom is a neutral particle made of a positive charge with
lumps of negative charge (electrons) in it.
 Looking inside the atom
 Hecould not determine the charge and the mass of the negative
particles separately, but it was clear that a new particle, probably
much smaller than the hydrogen atom, had been discovered. Since
atoms are neutral and physicists had discovered a negatively charged
part of an atom, it meant that there were both positive and negative
charges in an atom. We now call this the plum pudding model of the
atom (positive pudding with negative plums!).
 Otherexperiments show that the electron has a mass of approximately
9.11 × 10−31 kg (me) and a charge of−1.60 × 10−19 C (−e).
 Alpha-particle scattering and the nucleus
 Early in the 20th century, many physicists were investigating
the recently discovered phenomenon of radioactivity, the
process whereby unstable nuclei emit radiation. One kind of
radiation they found consisted of what they called α-particles
(alpha-particles).

 These α-particles were known to be smaller than atoms, and

had relatively high kinetic energies.
 Alpha-particle scattering and the nucleus
 In1906, while experimenting with the passage of α-particles
through a thin mica sheet, Ernest Rutherford noticed that most
of the α-particles passed straight through. This suggested to
him that there might be a large amount of empty space in the
atom, and by 1909 he had developed what we now call the
nuclear model of the atom.
 Alpha-particle scattering and the nucleus
 In1911 Rutherford carried out a further series of experiments
with Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden at the University of
Manchester using gold foil in place of the mica. They
directed parallel beams of α-particles at a piece of gold foil
only 10−6 m thick. Most of the α-particles went straight
through. Some were deflected slightly, but about 1 in 20 000
were deflected through an angle of more than 90°, so that
they appeared to bounce back off the foil.
 Alpha-particle scattering and the nucleus
 This helped to confirm Rutherford in his thinking about the atom
– that it was mostly empty space, with most of the mass and all
of the positive charge concentrated in a tiny region at the center .
This central nucleus only affected the α-particles when they
came close to it.
 Alpha-particle scattering and the nucleus
The α-particle source was encased in metal with a small aperture, allowing a
fine beam of α-particles to emerge.
Air in the apparatus was pumped out to leave a vacuum; α-radiation is
absorbed by a few centimeters of air.
One reason for choosing gold was that it can be made into a very thin sheet or
foil. Rutherford’s foil was only a few hundreds of atoms thick.
The α-particles were detected when they struck a solid ‘scintillating’ material.
Each α-particle gave a tiny flash of light and these were counted by the
experimenters (Geiger and Marsden).
The detector could be moved round to detect α-particles scattered through
different angles.
 Key points
 An α-particle is deviated due to the repulsive force between
the α-particle and the positive charge in the atom.
 Most α-particles have little or no deviation – so most of an
atom is empty space.
 A very few α-particles are deviated more than 90° – so most
of the mass of an atom is concentrated in a small space (the
nucleus) and most of the atom is empty space.
 Radioactivity
 Radioactivity is the release of energy from the decay of
the nuclei of certain kinds of atoms and isotopes.

 Radioactive nuclei are nuclei that are unstable and that

decay by emitting energetic particles such as photons,
electrons, neutrinos, protons, neutrons, or alphas (two
protons and two neutrons bound together).
 Alpha Ray
 Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha
radiation, consist of two protons and
two neutrons bound together into a particle identical
to a helium-4 nucleus. They are generally produced
in the process of alpha decay but may also be
produced in other ways.
 Alpha Ray
 Alpha particles are named after the first letter in the Greek
alphabet, α. The symbol for the alpha particle is α or α2+. Because
they are identical to helium nuclei, they are also sometimes written
4 2 +
as 2𝐻𝑒 indicating a helium ion with a +2 charge (missing its
two electrons).

 Oncethe ion gains electrons from its environment, the alpha particle
4
becomes a normal (electrically neutral) helium atom 2𝐻𝑒2
 Beta ray
 A betaparticle, also called beta
ray or beta radiation (symbol β), is a
high-energy, high-
speed electron or positron emitted by
the radioactive decay of an atomic
nucleus during the process of beta decay.
There are two forms of beta decay,
β− decay and β+ decay, which produce
electrons and positrons respectively.
 Gamma ray
 A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ), is a
penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from
the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei.
 It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves,
typically shorter than those of X-rays. With frequencies
above 30 exahertz (3×1019 Hz) and wavelengths less than
10 picometers (1×10−11 m), gamma ray photons have the
highest photon energy of any form of electromagnetic
radiation.
 Gamma ray
 Gamma rays are ionizing radiation and are thus
hazardous to life. They can cause
DNA mutations, cancer and tumors, and at high
doses burns and radiation sickness. Due to their
high penetration power, they can damage bone
marrow and internal organs. Unlike alpha and
beta rays, they easily pass through the body and
thus pose a formidable radiation
protection challenge, requiring shielding made
from dense materials such as lead or concrete
 Summary
 The
different penetrating properties of α-, β−- and γ-radiations can be
summarized as follows:
 A simple model of the atom
 Protons and neutrons make up the nucleus of the
atom.
 The electrons move around the nucleus in a cloud,
some closer to and some further from the
center of the nucleus.
 For example, if we scaled up the hydrogen atom so
that the nucleus was the size of a 1 cm diameter
marble, the orbiting electron would be a grain of
sand some 800 m away!
 The scale of things
 It is useful to have an idea of the approximate sizes of typical
particles:

 radius of proton ~ radius of neutron ~ 10−15 m

 radius of nucleus ~ 10−15 m to 10−14 m
−10
 radius of atom ~ 10 m
 size of molecule ~ 10−10 m to 10−6 m.
 The radii of nuclear particles are often quoted in femtometres (fm), where 1 fm = 10−15 m.
 Nuclear density
 We can picture a proton as a small, positively charged sphere.

 mass of proton 𝑚𝑝 = 1.67 . 10−27 𝑘𝑔

 radius of proton r = 0.80 fm = 0.80 . 10−15 m
4
 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛 = 𝜋𝑟 3 ≈ 2.1 × 10−45 𝑚3
3
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 1.67 .10−27
 𝑑= = = 7.8 × 1017 𝑘𝑔𝑚3
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 2.1×10−45
 Nuclear density
 Sothe proton has a density of 1018 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 . This is also the
density of a neutron, and of an atomic nucleus, because nuclei
are made of protons and neutrons held closely together.

 Comparethe density of nuclear material with that of water

whose density is 1000 kg 𝑚−3 – the nucleus is 1015 times as
dense.
 Nucleons and electrons
 Protons and neutrons in a nucleus are collectively called
nucleons. For example, in a nucleus of gold, there are 79
protons and 118 neutrons, giving a total of 197 nucleons
altogether.
 The total number of nucleons in a nucleus is called the
nucleon number (or mass number) A.
 Nucleons and electrons
 Thenucleon number is equal to the sum of the number of
neutrons in the nucleus, the neutron number N, and the
number of protons, the proton number (or atomic number) Z.
A=N+Z
 Nucleons and electrons
 The nucleus of any atom can be represented by the symbol for
the element along with the nucleon number and proton number.
nucleon number𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙 A
 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑍𝑋

oxygen 168𝑂 uranium 238

92𝑈
 A specific combination of protons and neutrons in a nucleus is
called a nuclide.
 Isotopes
 Isotopesare nuclei of the same element with different numbers
of neutrons but the same number of protons.

 For example. Three different naturally occurring forms of neon

are:
20 21 22
10N 10N 10N
 The electronvolt (eV)
 Alpha and beta particles move quickly; gamma photons travel
at the speed of light. These types of radiation all have energy,
but the energy of a single particle or photon is very small and
far less than a joule. So we use another, much smaller unit of
energy, the electronvolt, when considering the energy of
individual particles or photons.
 The electronvolt (eV)
 One electronvolt (1 eV) is the energy transferred when an
electron travels through a potential difference of one volt.

1 eV = 1.60 × 𝟏𝟎 −𝟏𝟗 J
End of Chapter 16