NUCLEAR MODELS
WEEK 2
MODULE 2
Dr. M.B. Adedokun
08076319472
Kindly ensure that
you have seen and
gone through
previous lecture
notes before you
proceed.
LESSON OUT COME
By the end of this course students
should be able to:
uExplain the concepts of
Ø Liquid drop model
ØShell model
ØMeson theory of nuclear force
NUCLEAR MODELS
§ Nuclear models are the several theoretical descriptions of the structure
and function of atomic nuclei (the positively charged, dense cores of
atoms).
§ Each of the models is based on a credible analogy that put a large
amount of information together and enables predictions of the properties
and behaviour of nuclei.
§ Nucear models are classified into two main groups: independent-particle
models and strong-interaction, or statistical models,
§ The main assumption of the strong-interaction, or statistical models is that
the protons and neutrons are mutually coupled to each other and behave
cooperatively in a way that reflects the short-ranged strong nuclear
force between them
LIQUID DROP MODEL
§ Formulated by Russian-born American physicist
George Gamow in 1929.
§ Austrian physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch used
it in 1938 to explain nuclear fission.
§ The model is a strong interaction model
§ The main assumption of independent-particle models
is that little or no interaction occurs between the
individual particles that constitute nuclei. Each
proton and neutron moves in its own orbit and
behaves as if the other nuclear particles were
passive participants
LIQUID DROP MODEL…
§ It is a description of atomic nuclei in which the
nucleons (neutrons and protons) behave like
the molecules in a drop of liquid
§ It considers that nucleons moving around within the
nucleus at random are imagined to interact strongly
with each other like the molecules in a drop of liquid.
§ As in the case of a normal liquid drop the nucleus is
imagined as composed of a stable central core of
nucleons for which the nuclear force is completely
saturated, and a surface layer of nucleons that is not
bound as tightly In an equilibrium state
SIMILARITIES OF NUCLUES A LIQUID DROP MODEL
§ The nuclei of atoms remain spherically symmetric under the
action of strong attractive nuclear forces just like the drop of a
liquid which is spherical due to surface tension.
§ The nucleus is incompressible and hence the density of all the
nuclei is the same independent of its size (mass number) just
like the density of liquid which is also independent of its size.
The intermolecular force that holds the molecules of a drop
together is similar to the short-range nuclear force that binds
the nucleons in a nucleus
§ The surface tension forces act on the surface of molecules, so
the drop appears spherical in shape. Similarly, the nucleons of
the nucleus move about within a spherical enclosure called
potential barrier at the surface of the nucleus just like the
movement of the molecules of a liquid within a spherical drop
of liquid .
§ The binding energy per nucleons of a nucleus is constant just
like the latent heat of vaporization of a liquid
LIQUID DROP MODEL
§The model permits the correlation of many facts
like nuclear masses and binding energies.
§It is also useful in explaining nuclear fission and
other nuclear reactions:
§ if given sufficient extra energy (as by the
absorption of a neutron), the spherical nucleus
may be distorted into a dumbbell shape and
then split at the neck into two nearly equal
fragments, releasing energy: nuclear fission
LIQUID DROP MODEL…
§ When a drop of liquid is allowed
to oscillate, it breaks up into two
smaller drop of equal size. The
process is similar to how
nucleus breaks up into smaller
nuclei
§ When two small drop of liquid is
brought in contact they combine
to form a drop bigger size, this
process is similar in which two
lighter nucleus combines to
form a single heavy nuclei
(nuclear fusion)
SHELL MODEL
§ Liquid drop model failed to explain the all properties of
nucleus - It does not explain the high stability of nuclei
with magic number.
§ When adding nucleons (protons or neutrons) to a
nucleus, there are certain points where the binding
energy of the next nucleon is significantly less than the
last one.
§ There are certain numbers of nucleons (2, 8, 20, 28, 50,
82, 126) in which nuclei with these nucleon numbers are
more tightly bound than nucleus with the next higher
nucleon number. These nucleon numbers (2, 8, 20, 28,
50, 82, 126) are known as magic numbers.
§ Shell model tries to explain the origin of magic numbers.
SHELL MODEL
§ Shell model of the atomic nucleus uses the Pauli
exclusion principle to describe the structure of the
nucleus in terms of energy levels. The protons and
neutrons occupy separate systems of shells,
analogous to the shells in which electrons are found
outside the nucleus.
§ Shell models describes the way protons and neutrons
are arranged inside a nucleus. It describes the
arrangement of nucleons like electrons in an atom, in
that a filled shell results in greater stability.
§ The shell model describes how much energy is
required to move nucleons from one orbit to another
and how the quantum numbers change
MESON THEORY OF NUCLEAR FORCE
§Hideki Yukawa 1934 postulated that the
nuclear force is caused by the exchange
of particles lighter than nucleons known
as mesons, and this idea gave rise to the
birth of a new sub-field of modern
physics, namely, (elementary) particle
physics.
The topics in this module will be
taught in-depth in subsequent
Physics courses.
Thank you
