atomic mass is the sum of the masses of all protons, neutrons and electrons that make up an atom or molecule. Compared to protons and neutrons, the mass of electrons is very small, so it is not taken into account in the calculations. Although it is incorrect from a formal point of view, this term is often used to refer to the average atomic mass of all isotopes of an element. In fact, this is the relative atomic mass, also called atomic weight element. Atomic weight is the average of the atomic masses of all naturally occurring isotopes of an element. Chemists must distinguish between these two types of atomic mass when doing their job - an incorrect value for atomic mass can, for example, lead to an incorrect result for the yield of a reaction product.

Steps

Finding the atomic mass according to the periodic table of elements

Learn how atomic mass is written. Atomic mass, that is, the mass of a given atom or molecule, can be expressed in standard SI units - grams, kilograms, and so on. However, because atomic masses expressed in these units are extremely small, they are often written in unified atomic mass units, or a.m.u. for short. are atomic mass units. One atomic mass unit is equal to 1/12 the mass of the standard carbon-12 isotope.

• The atomic mass unit characterizes the mass one mole of the given element in grams. This value is very useful in practical calculations, since it can be used to easily convert the mass of a given number of atoms or molecules of a given substance into moles, and vice versa.

1. Find the atomic mass in Mendeleev's periodic table. Most standard periodic tables contain the atomic masses (atomic weights) of each element. As a rule, they are given as a number at the bottom of the cell with the element, under the letters denoting the chemical element. This is usually not an integer, but a decimal.

   Remember that the periodic table shows the average atomic masses of the elements. As noted earlier, the relative atomic masses given for each element in the periodic table are the averages of the masses of all the isotopes of an atom. This average value is valuable for many practical purposes: for example, it is used in calculating the molar mass of molecules consisting of several atoms. However, when you are dealing with individual atoms, this value is usually not enough.

   • Since the average atomic mass is an average value for several isotopes, the value indicated in the periodic table is not accurate the value of the atomic mass of any single atom.
   • The atomic masses of individual atoms must be calculated taking into account the exact number of protons and neutrons in a single atom.

   Calculation of the atomic mass of an individual atom

   1. Find the atomic number of a given element or its isotope. The atomic number is the number of protons in an element's atoms and never changes. For example, all hydrogen atoms, and only they have one proton. Sodium has an atomic number of 11 because it has eleven protons, while oxygen has an atomic number of eight because it has eight protons. You can find the atomic number of any element in the periodic table of Mendeleev - in almost all of its standard versions, this number is indicated above the letter designation of the chemical element. The atomic number is always a positive integer.

      • Suppose we are interested in a carbon atom. There are always six protons in carbon atoms, so we know that its atomic number is 6. In addition, we see that in the periodic table, at the top of the cell with carbon (C) is the number "6", indicating that the atomic carbon number is six.
      • Note that the atomic number of an element is not uniquely related to its relative atomic mass in the periodic table. Although, especially for the elements at the top of the table, the atomic mass of an element may appear to be twice its atomic number, it is never calculated by multiplying the atomic number by two.

   2. Find the number of neutrons in the nucleus. The number of neutrons can be different for different atoms of the same element. When two atoms of the same element with the same number of protons have different numbers of neutrons, they are different isotopes of that element. Unlike the number of protons, which never changes, the number of neutrons in the atoms of a particular element can often change, so the average atomic mass of an element is written as a decimal fraction between two adjacent whole numbers.

      Add up the number of protons and neutrons. This will be the atomic mass of this atom. Ignore the number of electrons that surround the nucleus - their total mass is extremely small, so they have little to no effect on your calculations.

   Calculating the relative atomic mass (atomic weight) of an element

   1. Determine which isotopes are in the sample. Chemists often determine the ratio of isotopes in a particular sample using a special instrument called a mass spectrometer. However, during training, this data will be provided to you in the conditions of tasks, control, and so on in the form of values ​​taken from the scientific literature.

      • In our case, let's say that we are dealing with two isotopes: carbon-12 and carbon-13.

   2. Determine the relative abundance of each isotope in the sample. For each element, different isotopes occur in different ratios. These ratios are almost always expressed as a percentage. Some isotopes are very common, while others are very rare—sometimes so rare that they are difficult to detect. These values ​​can be determined using mass spectrometry or found in a reference book.

      • Assume that the concentration of carbon-12 is 99% and carbon-13 is 1%. Other isotopes of carbon really exist, but in quantities so small that in this case they can be neglected.

   3. Multiply the atomic mass of each isotope by its concentration in the sample. Multiply the atomic mass of each isotope by its percentage (expressed as a decimal). To convert percentages to decimals, simply divide them by 100. The resulting concentrations should always add up to 1.

      • Our sample contains carbon-12 and carbon-13. If carbon-12 is 99% of the sample and carbon-13 is 1%, then multiply 12 (atomic mass of carbon-12) by 0.99 and 13 (atomic mass of carbon-13) by 0.01.
      • Reference books give percentages based on the known amounts of all the isotopes of an element. Most chemistry textbooks include this information in a table at the end of the book. For the sample under study, the relative concentrations of isotopes can also be determined using a mass spectrometer.

   4. Add up the results. Sum the multiplication results you got in the previous step. As a result of this operation, you will find the relative atomic mass of your element - the average value of the atomic masses of the isotopes of the element in question. When an element is considered as a whole, and not a specific isotope of a given element, it is this value that is used.

      • In our example, 12 x 0.99 = 11.88 for carbon-12, and 13 x 0.01 = 0.13 for carbon-13. The relative atomic mass in our case is 11.88 + 0.13 = 12,01 .
   • Some isotopes are less stable than others: they decay into atoms of elements with fewer protons and neutrons in the nucleus, releasing particles that make up the atomic nucleus. Such isotopes are called radioactive.

Many years ago, people wondered what all substances are made of. The first who tried to answer it was the ancient Greek scientist Democritus, who believed that all substances are composed of molecules. We now know that molecules are built from atoms. Atoms are made up of even smaller particles. At the center of an atom is the nucleus, which contains protons and neutrons. The smallest particles - electrons - move in orbits around the nucleus. Their mass is negligible compared to the mass of the nucleus. But how to find the mass of the nucleus, only calculations and knowledge of chemistry will help. To do this, you need to determine the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. View the tabular values ​​of the masses of one proton and one neutron and find their total mass. This will be the mass of the nucleus.

Often you can come across such a question, how to find the mass, knowing the speed. According to the classical laws of mechanics, the mass does not depend on the speed of the body. After all, if a car, moving away, begins to pick up its speed, this does not mean at all that its mass will increase. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Einstein presented a theory according to which this dependence exists. This effect is called the relativistic increase in body mass. And it manifests itself when the speeds of bodies approach the speed of light. Modern particle accelerators make it possible to accelerate protons and neutrons to such high speeds. And in fact, in this case, an increase in their masses was recorded.

But we still live in a world of high technology, but low speeds. Therefore, in order to know how to calculate the mass of a substance, it is not at all necessary to accelerate the body to the speed of light and learn Einstein's theory. Body weight can be measured on a scale. True, not every body can be put on the scales. Therefore, there is another way to calculate mass from its density.

The air around us, the air that is so necessary for mankind, also has its own mass. And, when solving the problem of how to determine the mass of air, for example, in a room, it is not necessary to count the number of air molecules and sum up the mass of their nuclei. You can simply determine the volume of the room and multiply it by the air density (1.9 kg / m3).

Scientists have now learned with great accuracy to calculate the masses of different bodies, from the nuclei of atoms to the mass of the globe and even stars located at a distance of several hundred light years from us. Mass, as a physical quantity, is a measure of the inertia of a body. More massive bodies, they say, are more inert, that is, they change their speed more slowly. Therefore, after all, speed and mass are interconnected. But the main feature of this quantity is that any body or substance has mass. There is no matter in the world that does not have mass!

The masses of atomic nuclei are of particular interest for identifying new nuclei, understanding their structure, predicting decay characteristics: lifetime, possible decay channels, etc.
For the first time, the description of the masses of atomic nuclei was given by Weizsäcker on the basis of the drop model. The Weizsäcker formula makes it possible to calculate the mass of the atomic nucleus M(A,Z) and the binding energy of the nucleus if the mass number A and the number of protons Z in the nucleus are known.
The Weizsacker formula for the masses of nuclei has the following form:

where m p = 938.28 MeV/c 2 , m n = 939.57 MeV/c 2 , a 1 = 15.75 MeV, a 2 = 17.8 MeV, a 3 = 0.71 MeV, a 4 = 23.7 MeV, a 5 = 34 MeV, = (+ 1, 0, -1), respectively, for odd-odd nuclei, nuclei with odd A, even-even nuclei.
The first two terms of the formula are the sums of the masses of free protons and neutrons. The remaining terms describe the binding energy of the nucleus:

• a 1 A takes into account the approximate constancy of the specific binding energy of the nucleus, i.e. reflects the saturation property of nuclear forces;
• a 2 A 2/3 describes the surface energy and takes into account the fact that surface nucleons in the nucleus are weaker bound;
• a 3 Z 2 /A 1/3 describes the decrease in the nuclear binding energy due to the Coulomb interaction of protons;
• a 4 (A - 2Z) 2 /A takes into account the property of the charge independence of nuclear forces and the action of the Pauli principle;
• a 5 A -3/4 takes into account mating effects.

The parameters a 1 - a 5 included in the Weizsäcker formula are chosen in such a way as to optimally describe the masses of nuclei near the β-stability region.
However, it was clear from the very beginning that the Weizsacker formula did not take into account some specific details of the structure of atomic nuclei.
Thus, the Weizsäcker formula assumes a uniform distribution of nucleons in the phase space, i.e. essentially neglects the shell structure of the atomic nucleus. In fact, the shell structure leads to inhomogeneity in the distribution of nucleons in the nucleus. The resulting anisotropy of the mean field in the nucleus also leads to deformation of the nuclei in the ground state.

The accuracy with which the Weizsäcker formula describes the masses of atomic nuclei can be estimated from Fig. 6.1, which shows the difference between the experimentally measured masses of atomic nuclei and calculations based on the Weizsäcker formula. The deviation reaches 9 MeV, which is about 1% of the total binding energy of the nucleus. At the same time, it is clearly seen that these deviations are systematic in nature, which is due to the shell structure of atomic nuclei.
The deviation of the nuclear binding energy from the smooth curve predicted by the liquid drop model was the first direct indication of the shell structure of the nucleus. The difference in binding energies between even and odd nuclei indicates the presence of pairing forces in atomic nuclei. The deviation from the "smooth" behavior of the separation energies of two nucleons in nuclei between filled shells is an indication of the deformation of atomic nuclei in the ground state.
Data on the masses of atomic nuclei underlie the verification of various models of atomic nuclei, so the accuracy of knowing the masses of nuclei is of great importance. The masses of atomic nuclei are calculated using various phenomenological or semi-empirical models using various approximations of macroscopic and microscopic theories. The currently existing mass formulas describe quite well the masses (binding energies) of nuclei near the -stability valley. (The accuracy of the binding energy estimate is ~100 keV). However, for nuclei far from the stability valley, the uncertainty in predicting the binding energy increases to several MeV. (Fig. 6.2). In Fig.6.2 you can find references to works in which various mass formulas are given and analyzed.

Comparison of the predictions of various models with the measured masses of nuclei indicates that preference should be given to models based on a microscopic description that takes into account the shell structure of nuclei. It should also be borne in mind that the accuracy of predicting the masses of nuclei in phenomenological models is often determined by the number of parameters used in them. Experimental data on the masses of atomic nuclei are given in the review. In addition, their constantly updated values ​​can be found in the reference materials of the international database system.
In recent years, various methods have been developed for the experimental determination of the masses of atomic nuclei with a short lifetime.

Basic methods for determining the masses of atomic nuclei

We list, without going into details, the main methods for determining the masses of atomic nuclei.

• Measurement of the β-decay energy Q b is a fairly common method for determining the masses of nuclei far from the β-stability limit. To determine the unknown mass experiencing β-decay of the nucleus A

,

the ratio is used

M A \u003d M B + m e + Q b / c 2.

Therefore, knowing the mass of the final nucleus B, one can obtain the mass of the initial nucleus A. Beta decay often occurs in the excited state of the final nucleus, which must be taken into account.

This relation is written for α-decays from the ground state of the initial nucleus to the ground state of the final nucleus. The excitation energies can be easily taken into account. The accuracy with which the masses of atomic nuclei are determined from the decay energy is ~ 100 keV. This method is widely used to determine the masses of superheavy nuclei and their identification.

1. Measurement of the masses of atomic nuclei by the time-of-flight method

Determining the mass of the nucleus (A ~ 100) with an accuracy of ~ 100 keV is equivalent to the relative accuracy of mass measurement ΔM/M ~10 -6 . To achieve this accuracy, magnetic analysis is used in conjunction with the measurement of the time of flight. This technique is used in the spectrometer SPEG - GANIL (Fig. 6.3) and TOFI - Los Alamos. Magnetic rigidity Bρ, particle mass m, particle velocity v, and charge q are related by

Thus, knowing the magnetic rigidity of the spectrometer B, one can determine m/q for particles having the same velocity. This method makes it possible to determine the masses of nuclei with an accuracy of ~ 10 -4 . The accuracy of measurements of the masses of nuclei can be improved if the time of flight is measured simultaneously. In this case, the ion mass is determined from the relation

where L is the flight base, TOF is the time of flight. The span bases range from a few meters to 10 3 meters and make it possible to increase the accuracy of measuring the masses of nuclei to 10 -6 .
A significant increase in the accuracy of determining the masses of atomic nuclei is also facilitated by the fact that the masses of different nuclei are measured simultaneously, in one experiment, and the exact values ​​of the masses of individual nuclei can be used as reference points. The method does not allow separating the ground and isomeric states of atomic nuclei. A setup with a flight path of ~3.3 km is being created at GANIL, which will improve the accuracy of measuring the masses of nuclei to several units by 10 -7 .

1. Direct Determination of Nucleus Masses by Measuring the Cyclotron Frequency

For a particle rotating in a constant magnetic field B, the frequency of rotation is related to its mass and charge by the relation

Despite the fact that methods 2 and 3 are based on the same ratio, the accuracy in method 3 of measuring the cyclotron frequency is higher (~ 10 -7), because it is equivalent to using a longer span base.

2. Measurement of the masses of atomic nuclei in a storage ring

   This method is used on the ESR storage ring at GSI (Darmstadt, Germany). The method uses a Schottky detector. It is applicable to determine the masses of nuclei with a lifetime > 1 min. The method of measuring the cyclotron frequency of ions in a storage ring is used in combination with on-the-fly ion pre-separation. The FRS-ESR setup at GSI (Fig. 6.4) made precision measurements of the masses of a large number of nuclei over a wide range of mass numbers.

   209 Bi nuclei accelerated to an energy of 930 MeV/nucleon were focused on a beryllium target 8 g/cm 2 thick located at the FRS entrance. As a result of 209 Bi fragmentation, a large number of secondary particles are formed in the range from 209 Bi to 1 H. The reaction products are separated on the fly according to their magnetic hardness. The target thickness is chosen so as to expand the range of nuclei simultaneously captured by the magnetic system. The expansion of the range of nuclei occurs due to the fact that particles with different charges are decelerated in a different way in a beryllium target. The FRS separator fragment is tuned for the passage of particles with a magnetic hardness of ~350 MeV/nucleon. Through the system at the chosen range of the charge of the detected nuclei (52 < Z < 83) can simultaneously pass fully ionized atoms (bare ions), hydrogen-like (hydrogen-like) ions having one electron or helium-like ions (helium-like) having two electrons. Since the velocity of particles during the passage of the FRS practically does not change, the selection of particles with the same magnetic rigidity selects particles with the M/Z value with an accuracy of ~ 2%. Therefore, the rotation frequency of each ion in the ESR storage ring is determined by the M/Z ratio. This underlies the precision method for measuring the masses of atomic nuclei. The ion revolution frequency is measured using the Schottky method. The use of the method of ion cooling in a storage ring additionally increases the accuracy of mass determination by an order of magnitude. On fig. 6.5 shows the plot of the masses of atomic nuclei separated by this method in the GSI. It should be borne in mind that nuclei with a half-life of more than 30 seconds can be identified using the described method, which is determined by the beam cooling time and the analysis time.

   On fig. 6.6 shows the results of determining the mass of the 171 Ta isotope in various charge states. Various reference isotopes were used in the analysis. The measured values ​​are compared with the table data (Wapstra).

3. Measuring Nucleus Masses Using the Penning Trap

   New experimental possibilities for precision measurements of the masses of atomic nuclei are opening up in a combination of the ISOL methods and ion traps. For ions that have very little kinetic energy and hence a small radius of rotation in a strong magnetic field, Penning traps are used. This method is based on the precise measurement of the particle rotation frequency

   ω = B(q/m),

   trapped in a strong magnetic field. The mass measurement accuracy for light ions can reach ~ 10 -9 . On fig. Figure 6.7 shows the ISOLTRAP spectrometer mounted on the ISOL - CERN separator.
   The main elements of this setup are the ion beam preparation sections and two Penning traps. The first Penning trap is a cylinder placed in a magnetic field of ~4 T. The ions in the first trap are additionally cooled due to collisions with the buffer gas. On fig. Figure 6.7 shows the mass distribution of ions with A = 138 in the first Penning trap as a function of rotational speed. After cooling and purification, the ion cloud from the first trap is injected into the second one. Here, the mass of the ion is measured by the resonant frequency of rotation. The resolution achievable in this method for short-lived heavy isotopes is the highest and amounts to ~ 10 -7 .

   Rice. 6.7 ISOLTRAP spectrometer

§1 Charge and mass, atomic nuclei

The most important characteristics of a nucleus are its charge and mass. M.

Z- the charge of the nucleus is determined by the number of positive elementary charges concentrated in the nucleus. A carrier of a positive elementary charge R= 1.6021 10 -19 C in the nucleus is a proton. The atom as a whole is neutral and the charge of the nucleus simultaneously determines the number of electrons in the atom. The distribution of electrons in an atom over energy shells and subshells essentially depends on their total number in the atom. Therefore, the charge of the nucleus largely determines the distribution of electrons over their states in the atom and the position of the element in the periodic system of Mendeleev. The nuclear charge isqI = z· e, where z- the charge number of the nucleus, equal to the ordinal number of the element in the Mendeleev system.

The mass of the atomic nucleus practically coincides with the mass of the atom, because the mass of the electrons of all atoms, except for hydrogen, is approximately 2.5 10 -4 masses of atoms. The mass of atoms is expressed in atomic mass units (a.m.u.). For a.u.m. accepted 1/12 mass of carbon atom.

1 amu \u003d 1.6605655 (86) 10 -27 kg.

mI = m a -Z me.

Isotopes are varieties of atoms of a given chemical element that have the same charge but differ in mass.

The integer closest to the atomic mass, expressed in a.u. m . called the mass number m and denoted by the letter BUT. Designation of a chemical element: BUT- mass number, X - symbol of a chemical element,Z-charging number - serial number in the periodic table ():

Beryllium; Isotopes: , ", .

Core Radius:

where A is the mass number.

§2 Composition of the core

The nucleus of a hydrogen atomcalled proton

mproton= 1.00783 amu , .

Hydrogen atom diagram

In 1932, a particle called the neutron was discovered, which has a mass close to that of a proton (mneutron= 1.00867 a.m.u.) and does not have an electric charge. Then D.D. Ivanenko formulated a hypothesis about the proton-neutron structure of the nucleus: the nucleus consists of protons and neutrons and their sum is equal to the mass number BUT. 3 ordinal numberZdetermines the number of protons in the nucleus, the number of neutronsN \u003d A - Z.

Elementary particles - protons and neutrons entering into the core, are collectively known as nucleons. Nucleons of nuclei are in states, significantly different from their free states. Between nucleons there is a special i de r new interaction. They say that a nucleon can be in two "charge states" - a proton state with a charge+ e, and neutron with a charge of 0.

§3 Binding energy of the nucleus. mass defect. nuclear forces

Nuclear particles - protons and neutrons - are firmly held inside the nucleus, so very large attractive forces act between them, capable of withstanding the huge repulsive forces between like-charged protons. These special forces arising at small distances between nucleons are called nuclear forces. Nuclear forces are not electrostatic (Coulomb).

The study of the nucleus showed that the nuclear forces acting between nucleons have the following features:

a) these are short-range forces - manifested at distances of the order of 10 -15 m and sharply decreasing even with a slight increase in distance;

b) nuclear forces do not depend on whether the particle (nucleon) has a charge - charge independence of nuclear forces. The nuclear forces acting between a neutron and a proton, between two neutrons, between two protons are equal. Proton and neutron in relation to nuclear forces are the same.

The binding energy is a measure of the stability of an atomic nucleus. The binding energy of the nucleus is equal to the work that must be done to split the nucleus into its constituent nucleons without imparting kinetic energy to them

M I< Σ( m p + m n)

Me - the mass of the nucleus

Measurement of the masses of nuclei shows that the rest mass of the nucleus is less than the sum of the rest masses of its constituent nucleons.

Value

serves as a measure of the binding energy and is called the mass defect.

Einstein's equation in special relativity relates the energy and rest mass of a particle.

In the general case, the binding energy of the nucleus can be calculated by the formula

where Z - charge number (number of protons in the nucleus);

BUT- mass number (total number of nucleons in the nucleus);

m p, , m n and M i- mass of proton, neutron and nucleus

Mass defect (Δ m) are equal to 1 a.u. m. (a.m.u. - atomic mass unit) corresponds to the binding energy (E St) equal to 1 a.u.e. (a.u.e. - atomic unit of energy) and equal to 1a.u.m. s 2 = 931 MeV.

§ 4 Nuclear reactions

Changes in nuclei during their interaction with individual particles and with each other are usually called nuclear reactions.

There are the following, the most common nuclear reactions.

1. Transformation reaction . In this case, the incident particle remains in the nucleus, but the intermediate nucleus emits some other particle, so the product nucleus differs from the target nucleus.

1. Radiative capture reaction . The incident particle gets stuck in the nucleus, but the excited nucleus emits excess energy, emitting a γ-photon (used in the operation of nuclear reactors)

An example of a neutron capture reaction by cadmium

or phosphorus

1. Scattering. The intermediate nucleus emits a particle identical to

with the flown one, and it can be:

Elastic scattering neutrons with carbon (used in reactors to moderate neutrons):

Inelastic scattering :

1. fission reaction. This is a reaction that always proceeds with the release of energy. It is the basis for the technical production and use of nuclear energy. During the fission reaction, the excitation of the intermediate compound nucleus is so great that it is divided into two, approximately equal fragments, with the release of several neutrons.

If the excitation energy is low, then the separation of the nucleus does not occur, and the nucleus, having lost excess energy by emitting a γ - photon or neutron, will return to its normal state (Fig. 1). But if the energy introduced by the neutron is large, then the excited nucleus begins to deform, a constriction is formed in it and as a result it is divided into two fragments that fly apart at tremendous speeds, while two neutrons are emitted
(Fig. 2).

Chain reaction- self-developing fission reaction. To implement it, it is necessary that of the secondary neutrons produced during one fission event, at least one can cause the next fission event: (since some neutrons can participate in capture reactions without causing fission). Quantitatively, the condition for the existence of a chain reaction expresses multiplication factor

k < 1 - цепная реакция невозможна, k = 1 (m = m kr ) - chain reactions with a constant number of neutrons (in a nuclear reactor),k > 1 (m > m kr ) are nuclear bombs.

RADIOACTIVITY

§1 Natural radioactivity

Radioactivity is the spontaneous transformation of unstable nuclei of one element into nuclei of another element. natural radioactivity called the radioactivity observed in the unstable isotopes that exist in nature. Artificial radioactivity is called the radioactivity of isotopes obtained as a result of nuclear reactions.

Types of radioactivity:

1. α-decay.

Emission by the nuclei of some chemical elements of the α-system of two protons and two neutrons connected together (a-particle - the nucleus of a helium atom)

α-decay is inherent in heavy nuclei with BUT> 200 andZ > 82. When moving in a substance, α-particles produce strong ionization of atoms on their way (ionization is the detachment of electrons from an atom), acting on them with their electric field. The distance over which an α-particle flies in matter until it stops completely is called particle range or penetrating power(denotedR, [ R ] = m, cm). . Under normal conditions, an α-particle forms in air 30,000 pairs of ions per 1 cm path. Specific ionization is the number of pairs of ions formed per 1 cm of the path length. The α-particle has a strong biological effect.

Shift rule for alpha decay:

2. β-decay.

a) electronic (β -): the nucleus emits an electron and an electron antineutrino

b) positron (β +): the nucleus emits a positron and a neutrino

These processes occur by converting one type of nucleon into a nucleus into another: a neutron into a proton or a proton into a neutron.

There are no electrons in the nucleus, they are formed as a result of the mutual transformation of nucleons.

Positron - a particle that differs from an electron only in the sign of charge (+e = 1.6 10 -19 C)

It follows from the experiment that during β - decay, isotopes lose the same amount of energy. Therefore, on the basis of the law of conservation of energy, W. Pauli predicted that another light particle, called the antineutrino, is ejected. An antineutrino has no charge or mass. Losses of energy by β-particles during their passage through matter are caused mainly by ionization processes. Part of the energy is lost to X-rays during deceleration of β-particles by the nuclei of the absorbing substance. Since β-particles have a small mass, a unit charge and very high speeds, their ionizing ability is small (100 times less than that of α-particles), therefore, the penetrating power (mileage) of β-particles is significantly greater than α-particles.

Rβ air =200 m, Rβ Pb ≈ 3 mm

β - - decay occurs in natural and artificial radioactive nuclei. β + - only with artificial radioactivity.

Displacement rule for β - - decay:

c) K - capture (electronic capture) - the nucleus absorbs one of the electrons located on the shell K (less oftenLor M) of its atom, as a result of which one of the protons turns into a neutron, while emitting a neutrino

Scheme K - capture:

The space in the electron shell vacated by the captured electron is filled with electrons from the overlying layers, resulting in X-rays.

• γ-rays.

Usually, all types of radioactivity are accompanied by the emission of γ-rays. γ-rays are electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths from one to hundredths of an angstrom λ’=~ 1-0.01 Å=10 -10 -10 -12 m. The energy of γ-rays reaches millions of eV.

W γ ~ MeV

1eV=1.6 10 -19 J

A nucleus undergoing radioactive decay, as a rule, turns out to be excited, and its transition to the ground state is accompanied by the emission of a γ - photon. In this case, the energy of the γ-photon is determined by the condition

where E 2 and E 1 is the energy of the nucleus.

E 2 - energy in the excited state;

E 1 - energy in the ground state.

The absorption of γ-rays by matter is due to three main processes:

• photoelectric effect (with hv < l MэB);
• the formation of electron-positron pairs;

or

• scattering (Compton effect) -

Absorption of γ-rays occurs according to Bouguer's law:

where μ is a linear attenuation coefficient, depending on the energies of γ rays and the properties of the medium;

І 0 is the intensity of the incident parallel beam;

Iis the intensity of the beam after passing through a substance of thickness X cm.

γ-rays are one of the most penetrating radiations. For the hardest rays (hvmax) the thickness of the half-absorption layer is 1.6 cm in lead, 2.4 cm in iron, 12 cm in aluminum, and 15 cm in earth.

§2 Basic law of radioactive decay.

Number of decayed nucleidN proportional to the original number of cores N and decay timedt, dN~ N dt. The basic law of radioactive decay in differential form:

The coefficient λ is called the decay constant for a given type of nucleus. The "-" sign means thatdNmust be negative, since the final number of undecayed nuclei is less than the initial one.

therefore, λ characterizes the fraction of nuclei decaying per unit time, i.e., determines the rate of radioactive decay. λ does not depend on external conditions, but is determined only by the internal properties of the nuclei. [λ]=s -1 .

The basic law of radioactive decay in integral form

where N 0 - the initial number of radioactive nuclei att=0;

N- the number of non-decayed nuclei at a timet;

λ is the radioactive decay constant.

In practice, the decay rate is judged using not λ, but T 1/2 - the half-life - the time during which half of the original number of nuclei decays. Relationship T 1/2 and λ

T 1/2 U 238 = 4.5 10 6 years, T 1/2 Ra = 1590 years, T 1/2 Rn = 3.825 days The number of decays per unit time A \u003d -dN/ dtis called the activity of a given radioactive substance.

From

follows,

[A] \u003d 1 Becquerel \u003d 1 disintegration / 1 s;

[A] \u003d 1Ci \u003d 1Curie \u003d 3.7 10 10 Bq.

Law of activity change

where A 0 = λ N 0 - initial activity at timet= 0;

A - activity at a timet.