Stable and Unstable Nuclei Flashcards
What force binds nucleons together?
Strong Nuclear Force, this prevents the nucleons from flying apart
What two forces are acting on the Nucleons in a Nucleus?
Electrostatic and Gravitational force
Where does the electrostatic force comes from?
Protons electrical charges
Where does the gravitational force comes from?
The mass of the particle
What allows the strong nuclear force to hold the nucleons together?
It contains of an attractive force thats stronger than electrostatic. It is also short range
Why does the the strong nuclear force repulse
If it didn’t have small separations and repulse the atom will get crushed
On the graph where about does the nucleon separation occurs and when does it fall?
Nucleon seperation increases past 0.5fm the strong nuclear force becomes attractive. It reaches a maximum attractive value and then falls rapidly after about 3fm
When does Alpha emission happen?
When there is a large Nuclei such as uranium and radium
Why are alpha particles emitted?
This is because the atoms are too big for the strong nuclear force to keep them stable
What does the alpha particle do to the proton (atomic number) and the mass number (nucleon number)?
Decreases the proton number by 2 and decreases the nucleon number by 4
When does Beta emission happen?
Occurs in isotopes that have a neutron rich nuclei ( in which the protons and neutrons aren’t equal)
Beta minus decay is the emission of what?
An electron alongside an antineutron
What does beta minus decay do to the proton number and nucleon number?
Proton number increases by one and nucleon number stays the same
What is the name of the neutral particle in beta decay?
Anti-neutrino, this carries away some energy and momentum
