7. Nuclear Properties Flashcards
Who invented the Plum Pudding Model?
JJ Thompson
Describe the plum pudding model
Tiny negatively charged electrons are spread through the atom, which must be positively charged since overall the atom is neutral. The atom is seen as a positively charged diffuse sphere of matter with electrons embedded in it.
Who first carried out Rutherford scattering?
Geiger and Marsden under Rutherford
Describe the process of Rutherford scattering
Alpha particles were fired at gold film. It was found that a small number of particles underwent large scattering angles (which is very unlikely in the plum pudding model).
What did Rutherford propose for the structure of the atom?
The planetary model of the atom. He proposed that atoms have a small positively charged core which contain most of the atomic mass.
Rutherford scattering is often regarded as the _____ __ ________ ________.
Birth of nuclear physics.
What assumptions are required to calculate the Rutherford cross section?
- There is a Coulomb interaction between the alpha particle and the nucleus.
- Scattering is elastic.
- The target is thin enough to only consider single scattering.
What is the electric charge of a proton?
+1e
What is the mass of a proton?
1.6726 x 10^-27 kg (0.9383 GeV/c^2)
What is the spin of a proton?
1/2
What is the electric charge of a neutron?
0
What is the mass of a neutron?
1.6749 x 10^-27 kg (0.9383 GeV/c^2)
What is the spin of a neutron?
1/2
What is the parity operation?
An operator that reflects all spatial coordinates through the origin.
A physical property has _____ parity if it is invariant under the parity operation.
Even
A physical property has ____ parity if it changes sign under the parity operation.
Odd
Does a scalar property like temperature have odd or even parity?
Even: scalar quantities have no direction so are not impacted by the parity operation.
Does a vector property like velocity have odd or even parity?
Odd