PHYSICAL SCIENCE through bombardment of molybdenum by deuterons (heavy

hydrogen, H12), by Emilio Segre and Carlo Perrier in 1937.

Lesson 2: CONCEPT OF ATOMIC NUMBER THAT LED TO THE
SYNTHESIS OF NEW ELEMENTS IN THE LABORATORY In 1940, Dale Corson, K. Mackenzie, and Emilio Segre
discovered element with atomic number 85. They bombarded
Dmitri Mendeleev created a classification of elements based on atoms of bismuth (Z=83) with fast-moving alpha particles in a
their atomic weight. He found that organizing the elements at the cyclotron. Cyclotron is a particle accelerator that uses alternating
time by their calculated weight demonstrated a periodic pattern of electric field to accelerate particles that move in a spiral path in the
both physical and chemical properties, such as luster, physical presence of a magnetic field. Element-85 was named astatine
state, reactivity to water, and others. from the Greek word "astatos" meaning unstable.

Henry Gwyn-Jeffreys Moseley an English physicist whose The two other elements with atomic numbers 61 and 87
experiment demonstrated that the major properties of an element were discovered through studies in radioactivity. Element-61
are determined by the atomic number, not by the atomic weight, (Promethium) was discovered as a decay product of the fission of
and firmly established the relationship between atomic number uranium while element-87 (Francium) was discovered as a
and the charge of the atomic nucleus. In 1913, Moseley used breakdown product of uranium.
Rutherford's work to advance the understanding of the elements
and solve the problem with Mendeleev's periodic table. Moseley •THE SYNTHESIS OF THE ELEMENTS•
noticed that shooting electrons at elements caused them to
release x-rays at unique frequencies. He also noticed that the The invention of the device called cyclotron paved the
frequency increased by a certain amount when the "positive way for transmuting one element into another artificially. The high-
charge" of the chosen element was higher. His discovery allowed energy particles that are produced from the cyclotron upon hitting
for a better arrangement of the periodic table, and predicted heavy target nuclei produce heavier nuclei.
elements that were not yet discovered. The elements were The Universe ran into the Be problem. Red giant cores
arranged according to the square root of the frequency they get past this via the Triple- Alpha process, but the Universe
emitted, he was able to draw out an arrangement of elements that expands right through this possibility and thedensity/temperature
more correctly periodic trends.The elements’ atomic number, or are quickly too low to synthesis any additional elements.
place in the periodic table was uniquely tied to their positive
charge, or the umber of protons they had. His method of
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
identifying elements by shooting electrons and looking at x-rays
became a very useful tool in characterizing elements and now is •The oldest stars in the Galaxy are deficient in the abundance of
called X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY. elements heavier than Helium (but show the predicted amount of
He)
X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY a method that determines the atomic • The current record holder has Fe /H about 130,000 times smaller
number of an element. (Moseley bombarded a beam of electrons than the solar value.
to different elements and measure their x-ray spectral lines, results
showed that frequency of the x-rays given off by an element was
mathematically related to the position of that element in the Chemical Evolution of the Universe
Periodic Table.) When the elements were arranged there were Sources of the vast majority of elements in the Periodic Table of
gaps which corresponds to the atomic number 43,61,85, and 87. elements. We already know about some of the Sources,
• Low-mass stars synthe size new' He, C, O during the main-
DISCOVERY OF NUCLEAR TRANSMUTATION sequence, RGB, HB and AGB phases.
Nuclear transmutation- successfully carried out by Ernest
Rutherford in 1919. A reaction involving the transformation of one •These freshly minted elements are brought to the surface via
element o isotope into another element. convection and redistributed via stellar winds and planetary
•17O- first nuclide to prepared by artificial means was an isotope nebulae into the interstellar medium to be incorporated into later
of oxygen; was made by Ernest Rutherford in 1919 by bombarding generations of stars.
nitrogen atoms with a particle.
•In synthesizing new elements, because both alpha particles and Chemical Evolution II
atomic nuclei are positively charged, so they tend to repel each
other. •For more massive stars, equilibrium' fusion reactions produce
elements all the way up to Fe. Freshly made elements are
James Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932, as a previously delivered via stellar winds or, sometimes more spectacularly via
unknown neutral particle produced along with 12C by the nuclear supernova explosions.
reaction between 9Be and 4He.
Chemical Evolution III (What about the trans-Fe elements?)
•THE FIRST CONTROLLED NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION
REACTION WAS CREATED OUT IN A REACTOR AT THE Equilibrium fusion reactions of light elements don't proceed past
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO IN A942. ONE OF THE MANY Fe because of Fe's location at the peak of the curve of binding
REACTION INVOLVE WAS:• energy. However, in certain circumstances, supernovae for
example, non-equilibrium reactions can build elements beyond Fe
The Discovery of the Missing Elements in the Periodic Table. Many of these are radioactive, but some are
In 1925, there were four vacancies in the periodic table stable.
corresponding to the atomic numbers 43, 61, 85, and 87. Two of
these elements were synthesized in the laboratory using particle
Neutron d Elements There are two principle paths to building the
accelerators.
elements heavier than Fe. Both use the addition of neutrons to
Particle accelerator is a device that is used to speed up the
existing seed' nuclei (neutrons have no charge so are much easier
protons to overcome the repulsion between the protons and the
to add to positively-charged nuclei).
target atomic nuclei by using magnetic and electrical fields. It is
used to synthesize new elements. •The S-process (slow addition of neutrons) slow addition of
Technetium- comes from the Greek word “technetos” neutrons to nuclei. The addition of a neutron produces heavier
which means artificial; the first man made element which was was isotope of a particular element.
•The R-process rapid addition of neutrons to existing nuclei. Rapid
here means that many neutrons are added before a beta-decay
occurs.

The Transuranic Elements

In the 1930s, the heaviest element known was uranium,
with an atomic number 92. Early in 1940, Edwin McMillan proved
that an element having an atomic number 93 could be created. He
used a particle accelerator to bombard uranium with neutrons and
created an element with an atomic number 93 which he named
neptunium. Transuranic elements are synthetic elements with
atomic numbers higher than that of Uranium (Z = 92).
At the end of 1940, element-94 was synthesized by
Seaborg, McMillan, Kennedy, and Wahl. They bombarded uranium
with deuterons (particles composed of a proton and a neutron) in a
cyclotron. Element-94 was named plutonium. Elements with
atomic numbers greater than 92 (atomic number of uranium) are
called transuranium elements. Hence, neptunium and plutonium
are both transuranium elements. They are unstable and decay
radioactively into other elements. All these elements were
discovered in the laboratory as artificially generated synthetic
elements. They are prepared using nuclear reactors or particle
accelerators.
Stellar Nucleosynthesis
This is the process by which elements are created within
stars by combining the protons and neutrons together from the
nuclei of lighter elements. Fusion inside stars transforms hydrogen
into helium, heat, and radiation. Heavier elements are created in
different types of stars as they die or explode.

The Superheavy Elements are elements with atomic numbers

beyond 103. These are produced by bombarding heavy nuclear
targets with accelerated heavy projectiles. Bohrium (Z = 107) -
projectile used was Cr.
• Polonium the first naturally occurring unstable element that was
isolated; was discovered by the Polish scientist Marie Curie and
her husband Pierre in 1898.

FOUR COMMON MODES OF RADIOACTIVE DECAY

1. ALPHA DECAY nucleus emits a particle consisting two proton

and two neutrons, a helium-4 nucleus.
 Nucleus loses four nucleons; 2 protons (atomic number
decreased by 2), while mass number decreases by 4

Example: plutonium-239 underdoes alpha decay

•plutonium (atomic number) 94-2=92 (atomic number) uranium

•plutonium-239 - 4 (mass number) = uranium-235

2. BETA DECAY β- nucleus emits an electron, and a neutron

becomes proton
 Atomic number increases by 1; number of nucleons does not
change, thus mass number remains the same.

Example: cobalt-60 undergoes β- nickel-60

3. BETA DECAY β+ also called a positron emission

 proton becomes neutron
 This decreases the atomic number by 1 without changing the
mass number

Example: carbon-11 undergoes β+ boron-11

4. Electron capture a nucleus capture an electron from the lowest

orbital, turning proton to neutron
 THE SAME RESULT WITH BETA DECAY β+