Nuclear Physics

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  1. Quantum Electrodynamics

    Nucleus
    Hadrons Leptons
    Baryons Mesons
    Protons
    Neutrons
    Other, short-
    lived particles
    Pions
    Kaons
    Other, short-
    lived particles
    Tau
    Muon
    Electron
    Tau neutrino
    Muon neutrino
    Electron neutrino

    Elementary particles: Leptons and quarks (some baryons and mesons)

  2. Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
    Quarks
    1. There are six flavors of quarks
      Name: Down Up Strange Charm Bottom Top
      Abbr: d u s c b t
      Charge: - 1/3 2/3 - 1/3 2/3 - 1/3 2/3

      Each quark also contains an anti-quark (contains opposite sign)

      down and up quarks: normal everyday matter.

      strange and charm: produced in particle accelerators.

      bottom and top: early part of the big bang, high energy collisions (*Read stellar Nucleosynthesis on page 1005)

      Baryons: three flavors (eg uds)
      this will produce 0 charge.
      Mesons: quark and anti-quark

    2. For each flavor there are colors of quarks
      purple red green

      Color is the interaction that holds the flavors together, will determine the mass of the proton or neutron. The general name for the three colors is called a gluon (Strong Force).
      The top quark is very massive: not created at an existing accelerator because energy is too high.

  3. Binding Energy
    The energy required to decompose a nucleus into its component nucleons. (Weak force disintegration and transmutation) The binding energy will determine nuclear energy (*see page 997 fig 21.2)

    The general ration of protons to neutrons can be summarized as:
    Large nucleus (>Ca) 1.5 neutrons : 1 proton
    Small nucleus 1 neutron : 1 proton

    Four Types of Nuclear decay

    1. Beta Decay
    2. Positron Decay
    3. K-Capture
    4. Alpha Decay

    Alpha Decay
    23892U --> 42He + 23490Th

    Decay: Beta Emission (Beta-minus)
    22888Ra --> 0-1e + 22889Ac

    beta -minus emission

    Decay: Positron Emission
    9344Ru --> 01e + 9343Tc

    positron emission

    K-Capture (capture beta-minus)
    8337Rb + 0-1e --> 8336Kr + X-ray

    k-capture + X-ray

*All page references are from Chemistry Third Edition by Steven S. Zumdahl.


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