PARTICLE PHYSICS

PARTICLE PHYSICS

AGENDA

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

ATOMS, NUCLEI & RADIATION

CLASS ACTIVITIES

FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES

CLASS ACTIVITIES

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PARTICLE PHYSICS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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PARTICLE PHYSICS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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PARTICLE PHYSICS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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ATOMS, NUCLEI &
RADIATION
 ATOMS, NUCLEI & RADIATION
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

What are atoms made of?

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 ATOMS, NUCLEI & RADIATION
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

The mass of atoms and their constituent particles is more conveniently expressed in
atomic mass units (u) than the SI unit of mass the kilogram.

Protons and neutrons both have a mass of about one atomic mass unit u. By comparison, the mass of an
electron is very small, about 1/2000 of u. The vast majority of the mass of the atom is, therefore, in the
nucleus.

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ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

What is the charge of an atom?

What happens when an atom

gains/loses electrons?

9 AT O MS & I O NS
 PROTON NUMBER & NUCLEON NUMBER

𝑁𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 = 𝑁𝑢𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑜𝑛 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝐴 − 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 (𝑍)

𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 = 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠
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 A NUCLIDE & ISOTOPES

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 BACKGROUND RADIATION

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 𝛼 - PARTICLES, 𝛽 - PARTICLES & 𝛾 - RADIATION
• An α-particle consists of two protons and two neutrons and hence has a charge of +2e.
• α-particles are emitted from a heavy nucleus (for example, nuclides with an atomic number between bismuth 83 and
uranium 92) with high speeds of up to about 107 𝑚. 𝑠 −1 (about 5% the speed of light).
• α-particle emission is the least penetrating of the three types of emission.

• When the nucleus of an atom emits an α-particle, it is said to undergo α-decay. The nucleus loses two protons and two
neutrons in this emission.

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 𝛼 - PARTICLES, 𝛽 - PARTICLES & 𝛾 - RADIATION

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 ATOMS, NUCLEI & RADIATION
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

• A radioactive nucleus that decays by β decay may emit a negative (β−) or positive
(β+) electron. The positive electron (β+) is also known as a positron or an
antielectron. The positron is the antiparticle of an electron and, therefore, has the
same mass but opposite charge to an electron.

• β-particles have a range of speeds that may reach in excess of 99% of the speed of
light. These particles have half the charge and very much less mass than α-particles.

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 ATOMS, NUCLEI & RADIATION
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

• A β− particle may be emitted from a lead-214 nucleus (the parent nuclide). The
daughter nuclide is bismuth-214 and, in addition, energy is released.

• A β+ particle may be emitted from a phosphorus-30 nucleus (the parent nuclide).

The daughter nuclide is silicon-30 and energy is also released.

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 ATOMS, NUCLEI & RADIATION
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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 ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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CLASS ACTIVITY #1
 ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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CLASS ACTIVITY #2
 ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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CLASS ACTIVITY #3
 ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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CLASS ACTIVITY #4
 CLASS ACTIVITY #5
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

Question 2 & 3 Page 202

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 KINETIC ENERGY OF EMITTED PARTICLES
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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 CLASS ACTIVITY #6
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

Question 8 Page 213

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 ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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𝛾- RADIATION
 𝛾- RADIATION
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

Consider the following:

Uranium-238 decays by emitting an α-particle to become Thorium. Write the nuclear
equation for this reaction

The resulting nucleus of thorium-234 contains excess energy (it is in an excited state)
and emits a photon of γ-radiation to return to the ground state.

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 SUMMARY

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 RADIOACTIVE DECAY SERIES
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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 THE 𝛼 -PARTICLE SCATTERING EXPERIMENT
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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 THE 𝛼 -PARTICLE SCATTERING EXPERIMENT
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES
 FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

In the nineteenth century, the atom was considered to be the fundamental particle from which all matter
was composed. A fundamental particle is not formed from other particles. The idea of atoms was used to
explain the basic structure of all elements.

In 1932 James Chadwick discovered the neutron and the fundamental particles were then considered to
be the proton, the neutron and the electron.
The discovery of antimatter in cosmic radiation supported the theory developed from the special theory of
relativity and quantum theory that all fundamental particles have a corresponding antimatter particle.
Each matter and its antimatter particle have the same mass but opposite charge.

The following particles were required to support the theory: the antiproton, the antineutron and the
antielectron. These results gave support for the idea that the proton and neutron were not fundamental
particles.
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 FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

The numerous types of subatomic particles are placed into two main categories depending on their
properties. Those affected by the strong force are called hadrons, for example protons and neutrons, and
those not affected by the strong force are called leptons, for example electrons and positrons.

The particles in an atom must experience forces in order to maintain its structure. The forces were the
gravitational force that acts between all masses and the electrostatic force that acts between charged
objects. The electrostatic force of repulsion is approximately 1036 times greater than the gravitational
force of attraction between protons. Another attractive force must keep the protons together in the
nucleus. This force is known as the strong force and acts between nucleons. The force does not seem to
have any effect outside the nucleus and is, therefore, considered to be very short range.

The strong force acts on protons and neutrons but not on electrons.

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 FUNDAMENTAL PARTICLES
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

The many different particles discovered in cosmic radiation have been reproduced in high
energy collisions of atomic nuclei using particle accelerators. Two of the conclusions to these
reactions were:

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 THE QUARK MODEL OF HADRONS
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

The problem of what were considered to be fundamental particles was resolved by the quark model for
hadrons. In the quark model, the hadrons are made up of fundamental particles called quarks. Three
types of quark, called flavours of quark, were initially introduced: up (u), down (d) and strange (s).

The quark model was developed as more particles were discovered. The total number of types of quark or
‘flavours’ is considered to be six. The additional flavours are charm (c), bottom (b) and top (t).

The quark flavours have charge and strangeness.

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 THE QUARK MODEL OF HADRONS
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

The quark flavours have charge and strangeness.

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 THE QUARK MODEL OF HADRONS
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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 CLASS ACTIVITY #
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

Which combination of quarks will give a charge of:

1. Zero (0)
2. Positive (+1)

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 THE QUARK MODEL OF HADRONS
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

There are two types of hadron: baryons and mesons.

A baryon is made up of three quarks or three antiquarks. Hence protons and neutrons
consist of three quarks.

A meson is made up of a quark and an antiquark.

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 CLASS ACTIVITY #7
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

Question 8, Page 210

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 LEPTONS
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

• Leptons are particles that are not affected by the strong force.

• The electron and neutrino and their antimatter partners, the positron and
antineutrino, are examples of leptons.

• These types of particle do not appear to be composed of any smaller particles and,
therefore, leptons are considered to be fundamental particles.

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 UNDERSTANDING BETA DECAY IN TERMS OF
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

QUARKS AND LEPTONS

During the decay of a neutron in the nucleus, a proton is formed and an electron and antineutrino
emitted. This is β− decay. In terms of the fundamental particles, quarks, the reaction can be shown as
follows:

Compare the quark flavour before and after the interaction.

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 ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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CLASS ACTIVITY #8
 ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

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CLASS ACTIVITY #8
 CLASS ACTIVITY #8
ATOMS, NUCLEI, RADIATION

Question 9, Page 213

Question 10, Page 213

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