5 Nuclear Physics Flashcards
What happens to alpha particles shot at atoms (in gold foil)?
- Some pass straight through
- Some deflect at an angle (repelled by positive nucleus)
- Some reflect (hit nucleus)
Explain ions
Explain nuclide notation
- Nucleon/mass number: number of protons + neutrons
- Proton number: number of protons
What are isotopes?
Atoms of the same element that have an equal number of protons but a different number of neutrons (more unstable, more likely to decay)
What is relative charge?
The charge of a particle divided by the charge of a proton (proton: +1, neutron: 0, electron -1)
Define nuclear fission
The splitting of a large, unstable nucleus into two smaller nuclei (as well as 2/3 neutrons and gamma rays)
Define nuclear fusion
When two light nuclei join to form a heavier nucleus (requires extremely high temperatures)
State Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence equation
E=mc(2)
Why might a radiation detector register a reading despite there being no obvious sources of radiation in the laboratory.
Background Radiation
List sources of background radiation
- Radon gas
- Cosmic rays
- Food
- Medical (e.g. X-rays)
- Rocks/building materials
What is ionisation?
What do the ionising effects of radiation depend on?
Kinetic energy and charge
List uses of radiation
- Diagnosis/treatment of cancer
- Tracers
- Sterilising food/medical equipment
- Smoke detectors
- Checking thickness of materials
Lis dangers of radiation
- Cell death
- Tissue damage
- Mutations
- Cancer
