Nuclear physics : that studies the constituents and interactions of atomic nuclei.

Mass no. of nuclei A = Z +N, Where Z = no. of protons in the nucleus; N = no. of neutrons
** Nuclear mass has been measured accurately by using mass spectrometer

1
One atomic mass unit: 1 amu = the mass of carbon isotope 126C { 1 amu = 1.66 ×10−27 kg }
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According to Einstein’s equation E = mc2
−27 8 2
1.66 x 10 x (3 x 10 )
Energy equivalence of 1 amu= −19
eV =931 MeV
1.6 x 10

** The stable nucleus has approximately a constant density.

The nuclear radius R can be given as R=r 0 A 1/ 3
Where A=Atomic mass number and r 0 =1.25 x 10−15 m

27 125
Eg. The ratio of the radii of the nuclei 13 Al and Te is approximately.
52

R Al (27)1/ 3 3
= =
RTe (125)1 /3 5

Eg. The radius of the 64

30 Zn nucleus is nearly (in fm)

1/ 3
R=r 0 A and r 0 =1.25 x 10−15 m so R=1.25 x 10
−15 1 /3
(64 ) =4.8 fm

Nuclear Density: is the density of the nucleus of an atom.

The nuclear density for an atom with radius R ,molar mass A(mass number) and mass of proton m p is
A mp
n=
4 3 Here m pis nearly equal to mn (mass of neutron)
πR
3
Eg. Nuclear radius of 168O is 3 x 10− 15 m. Find the density of nuclear matter.
A m p 1.66 × 10− 27 x 16 17 −3
n= = =2.35 x 10 kg m
4 3 4 −15 3
πR π (3 x 10 )
3 3

Types of Nuclei :
(a) Isotopes: Nuclei having same atomic number Z but different mass no. are called isotopes.
Ex. 11 H , 21 H , 31 H
(b) Isobars: Nuclei having same mass number A but different atomic number Z are called isobars.
Ex. 146C and 147 N

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(c) Isotones: Nuclei having same number of neutrons are called isotones Ex. 31 H , 42H e
 Stable nucleus → non-radioactive, Unstable nucleus → radioactive
 Nuclear stability is greater for nuclides containing even numbers of protons and neutrons or both.

Forces that keep the nucleons bound in the nucleus are called nuclear
forces.
Properties of Nuclear Forces
(a) These forces are attractive by nature. At very short distance s (< 0.7
fm) these become repulsive.
(b) The nuclear force is short range force. It means that it exist only when
particles are very-very close to each other. In nucleus the separation
between particles is 10−15m or I Fermi. At this infinitesimal small separation, the nuclear force becomes
100 to 1000 times stronger than the repulsive than the electric forces between the nucleons.
In the short range force, the force between the particles rapidly decreases. Thus the nuclear force only
exists in the nucleus.
(c) These forces do not obey inverse square law.
(d) Nuclear forces are not central forces. It means that these forces do not depend upon the center of one
particle to another particle.
(e) Strong nuclear forces are the strongest force in nature. In the given range of distance, the nuclear
forces are 1038 times stronger than the gravitational forces.

MASS DEFECT: It has been observed that actual mass of the nucleus (determined by mass spectrometer
of high resolving power) is always less than the sum of masses of proton and neutrons in Free State.
∆ m=[ Z m p+ ( A −Z ) mn ] − M ,where m p is mass of proton; mnis mass neutron; M is mass of nucleus
Ex. Consider the decay of radium (A=226) atom into an alpha particle and radon (A=222). Then, what is
the mass defect of the reaction. Mass of radium -226 atom = 226.0256u; Mass of radon -222 atom =
222.0715u and Mass if helium atom =4.0026u
Sol: Mass defect is the difference in masses of parent and daughter nuclei. Mass defect is given by
∆ m=M ( Ra226 ) − M ( Rn222 ) − M (α )=226.0256-222.0175-4.00026=0.0053 u
BINDING ENERGY :
The energy required to bind the nucleons in the nucleus is called B.E.
OR
The neutrons and protons in a stable nucleus are held together by nuclear forces and energy is needed to
pull them infinitely apart (or the same energy is released during the formation of the nucleus). This
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energy is called the binding energy of the nucleus.
OR
The binding energy of a nucleus may be defined as the energy equivalent to the mass defect of the
nucleus.
If ∆ m is mass defect then according to Einstein's mass-energy relation
BE = ∆ m c2 = [ Z m p + ( A − Z ) mn ] − M c2 ,where c is the speed of light in free space.

Binding energy per nucleon : The average energy required to release a nucleon from the nucleus is
called binding energy per nucleon.
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∆mc ∆m
BE per nucleon= = x 931 MeV /nucleon
A A
Binding energy per nucleon ∝ Stability of nucleus
If BE per nucleon is about or more than 8 MeV than nucleus will be stable.
Packing fraction : Mass defect per nucleon is called packing fraction.
∆m
Packing fraction (f )= , where M = Mass of nucleus, A = Mass number Packing fraction measures
A
the stability of a nucleus.
Smaller the value of packing fraction, larger is the stability of the nucleus.

It is the graph between binding

energy per nucleon and total
number of nucleons (i.e. mass
number A)
(1) Some nuclei with mass number
A < 20 have large binding energy
per nucleon than their neighbour
nuclei. For example 42H e
, 84 B e ,126C , 168O and 20
10 N e . These nuclei are more stable than their neighbors.

(2) The binding energy per nucleon is maximum for nuclei of mass number A=56 (56
26 F e ). It's value is 8.8

MeV per nucleon.

(3) For nuclei having A > 56, binding energy per nucleon gradually decreases for uranium (A = 238), the
value of binding energy per nucleon drops to 7.5 MeV.