Nuclear Science




Nuclear Science

Nuclear science is the study of the atomic world. In nuclear science, the word 'nuclear' means 'of or relating to or constituting the nucleus of an atom'. Atoms are the fundamental constituents of everything around us, and we ourselves are entirely composed of them.
 
This means that nuclear science is crucial to understanding our universe, our world and ourselves at the atomic level.


Nuclear Structure

















An atom consists of an extremely small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. Although typically the nucleus is less than one ten-thousandth the size of the atom, the nucleus contains more than 99.9% of the mass of the atom! Nuclei consist of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons held together by the so-called strong or nuclear force.

This force is much stronger than the familiar electrostatic force that binds the electrons to the nucleus, but its range is limited to distances on the order of a few x10-15 meters.

The number of protons in the nucleus, Z, is called the atomic number. This determines what chemical element the atom is. The number of neutrons in the nucleus is denoted by N. The atomic mass of the nucleus, A, is equal to Z + N. A given element can have many different isotopes, which differ from one another by the number of neutrons contained in the nuclei. In a neutral atom, the number of electrons orbiting the nucleus equals the number of protons in the nucleus. Since the electric charges of the proton and the electron are +1 and -1 respectively (in units of the proton charge), the net charge of the atom is zero.

At present, there are 112 known elements which range from the lightest, hydrogen, to the recently discovered and yet to-be-named element 112. All of the elements heavier than uranium are man made. Among the elements are approximately 270 stable isotopes, and...