Physics 122

Atomic and nuclear physics

Produced by : Prof adeniyi jones
Edited by : azstoch coop city
LANDMARK UNIVERSITY - OMEGA SEMESTER

COURSE OUTLINE:
1. Theory of Atomic Structure
2. Thomson, Rutherford, and Neils Bohrs theories
3. The Hydrogen atom
4. Properties of the atom, Ions, Protons Neutrons and Electrons
5. Millikans oil-drop experiment
6. Properties of the Atomic nucleus
7. Natural Radioactivity
8. Wave Particle duality of Light
9. X-Rays
10.Photo electricity
11.Thermionic Emission
12.Diode Valve etc.

ATOMIC & NUCLEAR PHYSICS Lecture 1

ATOMS, IONS & ELECTRONS Historical Background:
It was J.J. Thomson who proved that Atoms contain tiny particles called Electrons.
Hence, atoms are structurally made up of positively and negatively charged particles.
Atoms are known to be electrically neutral particles, hence, the positive and negative
charges must be numerically equal. At about the time J.J. Thomson demonstrated the
existence of the electron a fundamental unit of negative electricity with very small

mass; Becquerel discovered the phenomenon of natural radioactivity; and Roentgen

discovered the X-rays. To these discoveries Max Planck explained the distribution of
energy in the spectrum of the radiation from blackbody, i.e., that electromagnetic
radiation in its interaction with matter, is emitted or absorbed in whole units called
QUANTA of energy, and each quanta has an energy E = hv, where v is the frequency of
radiation emitted or absorbed and h is known as Plancks constant.
Albert Einstein (1905) extended Plancks hypothesis by showing that electromagnetic
radiation in its interaction with matter, behaves as though it consists of particles called
Photons, where each photon has an energy E = hv.
Rutherford (1911) proposed a new theory of scattering of alpha a particles by matter.
He proposed a simple model of the atom that is for a large angle scattering of these
alpha-a particles to be possible, there must be an intense electric field near an atom.
He assumed that the positive charge of the atom instead of being distributed uniformly
throughout a region of the size of an atom, is concentrated min a minute centre known
as the Nucleus, and that the negative charge is distributed over a sphere of a radius
comparable with the atomic radius. On this model, an alpha a particle can penetrate
very close to the nucleus before the repulsive force on it becomes large enough to turn
it back, but the repulsive force can then be very large and can result in very large
deflection. At the same time, when an alpha-a particle is near the nucleus, nit is
relatively far from the negative charges which are spread over a large volume so that
the attractive forces exerted on the alpha particle by the electrons can be neglected.
Rutherford assumed that the nuclear and alpha particle charges act as point charges
and that the scattering of the alpha particles is caused by the repulsive electrostatic
force between the nucleus and and the alpha particles. If the magnitude of the alpha
particle charge is 2e and that of the nucleus is ze, where z is an interger, and r is the
distance between the two charges, then the magnitude of the force is F = 2ze/r2

NEILS BOHRS THEORY OF ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Electrons, Protons and Neutrons are known as sub-particles. The first modern atomic
theory was proposed by John Dalton. He proposed that an element was composed of

atoms of identical size and mass. These particles were indivisible and remained
unchanged during a chemical reaction. Dalton and other Scientists discovered that the
atom was not indivisible, but consisted of subatomic particles such as electrons,
protons, and neutrons.
J.J. Thomson was the first scientist to identify electrons through his work on Cathode
rays. Cathode rays consisted of streams of negatively charged particles called Electrons.
He was able to determine the charge-to-mass ratio (e/m) of these electrons. In all his
experiments the value of e/m was the same. He therefore concluded that all atoms
contained electrons.
In 1909 Millikan, through his oil-drop experiment determined the charge (e) of an
electron. When combined with Thomsons value for e/m, the mass of an electron can
be calculated to be:
e = 1.602 x 10 -19C
m = 9.110 x 10-29gm

The Proton: The Proton was the second sub-atomic particle to be discovered in 1886 by
Goldstein. These particles are known as positive rays.
Rutherford in 1899 discovered alpha (a) and Beta (b) radiation. Hence by all of these
experiments there is evidence that the atom consists of very small positively charged
nucleus surrounded by a large space containing light negatively charged electrons.
Rutherford then went on to propose the existence of the Proton and showed that its
mass was 1800 times that of an electron.
The Neutron: The neutron was predicted by Rutherford I 1920 to account for the
difference between atomic mass and atomic number. This was later proven
experimentally in 1932 by J. Chadwick. He showed that these neutron particles were
electrically neutral and called them neutrons.
Models of the Atom: In 1913 Neils Bohr described the model of an atom. He viewed the
atom as a positive nucleus surrounded by electrons, and suggested that the electrons
travelled in circular orbits around the nucleus. These orbits had different energies,
hence an electron could gain or lose energy by jumping from one orbit to another.

Quanta: In 1900, Max Planck suggested that energy could be only be absorbed or
emitted in discrete quantities called QUANTA. The magnitude of E of these bundles of
energy were related to the frequency ( v ) of the energy by a constant ( h), known as
Plancks constant. Thus: E = hv
Hence, the higher the energy of a quantum, the higher its frequency.
Einstein, in 1905 postulated that light was composed of particles called photons. He
used this theory to explain why metal surfaces emitted electrons when light was shown
on them. This phenomenon was known as the Photoelectric Effect. Hence Light was
seen to have a dual nature. It could behave as waves by forming interference and
diffraction pattern or it could behave as a beam of particles as is the case in
photoelectric effect.
Mass of an Atom: The Atomic mass number is the number of protons and neutrons in a
nucleus. It is given a symbol (A). A nucleus is often called a nuclide and the nuclear
particles protons, and neutrons sometimes called Nucleons.
The Atomic Number: The atomic number of an element is the number of Protons in the
nucleus. It is represented by letter (z). Atomic number is related to the mass number as
follows:
A=z+N
Where N is the number of neutrons in the nucleus. Each element has its own atomic
number. No two elements can have the same atomic number. The atomic number is
not only the number of protons in a nucleus, but is also equal to the number of
electrons surrounding the nucleus. This is because there is no net charge on an atom.
The number of protons thus equals the number of electrons. This does not apply to
ions which are charged particles.

ATOMIC & NUCLEAR PHYSICS Lecture 2

The Elementary Particles:

One of the most spectacular developments in todays Physics is the discovery that a
remarkable number (thirty, in fact) of elementary particles exist. Only 9 of these
elementary particles were known before World War 11. The mystery surrounding these
particles were removed by a combination of elegant experiments and powerful, even if
unconventional, theoretical analysis. It is important to note that the discovery of these
particles and evolution of concepts associated with them has systemized mans
knowledge of this field of Physics.
The concept of elementary particles has risen from mans age-old search for the
ultimate, fundamental, and indivisible units of which matter is composed. With the
work of J.J. Thomson and Rutherford came the belief that all the listed 92 different
types of atoms were themselves made from just elementary particles the electron
and the proton. These are stable, indivisible particles with unique masses and have the
following properties:
1. The electron is a very tiny chunk of matter with a mass of 10 exp. -27g.
The proton has a mass of about 2000 times greater.
2. The electron carries a negative charge of about 1.60 X 10-19c
While the charge of the proton is positive and of the same magnitude
as the electron.
The work of Planck and Einstein later added to this list of a third elementary particle,
the Photon. They recognized that the radiation of energy of an electromagnetic field
exists in the discrete units called photons. On this view, light consists of a stream of
photons, all travelling with the same velocity.
The electron, proton, and photon interact with each
other as follows:

1. According to Maxwells classical theory, all charged particles emit or

absorb electromagnetic radiation when accelerated. This means that
electrons or protons emit or absorb photons.
2. According to Maxwells theory, one charged particle attracts or repels
another charged particle by first producing an electromagnetic field,
and this field in turn acts on the second charged particle. We can view
this as an emission of one (or many) photons from one electron and reabsorption by the second.
3. The emission or absorption of photons and their exchange between
two electrons or an electron, and photon proceed in accordance with
conservation law.

THE ELECTRON, PROTON & NEUTRON

These three particles are the building blocks of an atom. Electrons, Protons and
neutrons each possesses a definite mass, but while electrons have negative charge, the
proton has positive charge; the neutron has no charge, it is electrically neutral. It is
estimated that the mass of an electron is only 1/1840 that of a proton or a neutron.
The electron and proton both possess electric charges which are of the same
magnitude but of opposite sign; usually denoted by e and +e respectively. The electric
forces due to their charges produce attraction between an electron and a proton,
repulsion between two electrons or two protons, and no force between either of the
two and the neutron as this neutron possesses no electric charge at all.
The question on has to ask is that of the role of a neutron. If the neutron is acted on by
no electric force, how then can it be cemented into the scheme of material structure?
The answer is that neutrons and protons both possess another source of force which is
quite different in character from electrical force. They possess a Nucleic charge, as
distinct from electric charge. Two nucleic charges attract each other with a force which
falls off very much more rapidly as the distance between them increases than does
that between two electric charges. At small distances, however, of the order of the

radius of the particles, the nucleic attraction between two protons far exceeds the
repulsion due to their electric charges.