Prepared by: Andrew R.

Patigdas
 extremely small
 impossible to be seen with our naked eyes

“Scanning tunneling microscope

(STM) and other sophisticated
instruments”
- made possible for atoms to be seen
 consist of atoms
 made of:

 1. nucleus
a.) protons
-positively charged
-defines atomic number
define atomic mass
b.) neutrons
-electrically neutral
 2.electrons
-orbit the nucleus
-negatively charged

 known to have been formed during:

 a.) Big Bang
-formed H, He, Li
 b.) Stellar formation and evolution
-formed Be to Fe
 c.) Stellar explosion
-formed elements heavier than Fe
 everything that one sees known to be
made up of atoms
chairs, board, pen, and paper
-all made up of varying
combinations of atoms
 you and the air you breathe
are composed of atoms
 building blocks of “Atoms”
 Nuclear reactions
-processes in which a nucleus either:
-combines with another nucleus (
through nuclear fusion)
-splits into smaller nuclei (through
nuclear fission)

 Radioactive particles
-may be elements, electrons, protons, and
neutron, among others
 Each particle
-has a superscript and a subscript
-at the left-hand side of the symbol
A
(Z X)
-superscript (particle’s atomic mass, A)

-subscript (particle’s atomic number, Z)

 4
 1.) alpha decay: loss of an alpha particle ( 2 α )
alpha decay of polonium-210
210 206 4
84 Po 82 Pb +2α
 2.) beta decay: loss of beta decay ( 0 β )
-1
beta decay of carbon-14
14 14 0
6 C 7 N+ -1 β
 3.) gamma radiation: emission of a gamma ray ( 0 γ)
0
gamma radiation in alpha decay of uranium-238
238 234 4 α
92 U 90 Th+ 2
234 234 0
90 Th 90 Th+ 0 γ
 4.) positron emission: conversion of a proton in a
0
nucleus into a neutron, releasing a proton ( +1 e)
positron emission of oxygen-15

15 15 0
8 O 7 N+ +1 e

Positron is a positively charged particle having the same

mass and magnitude of charge as the electron.
 0
 5.) Electron capture: drawing of an electron ( -1 e)
into an atom’s nucleus
electron capture of mercury-201
201 0 201
80 Hg+ -1 e 79 Au

 6.) Bombardment of alpha particle:

addition of alpha particle
Bombardment of beryllium with alpha particle
9 4 12 1
4 Be+ 2 α 6 C+ 0 n
other subatomic particles included in nuclear reactions:
1
a. proton ( 1 p)
1
b. neutron ( 0 n )
The sum of the atomic mass of the particles
in the left-hand side of the equation is equal
to that in the right-hand side. The same is
true for the atomic numbers.

If a particle is missing in an equation

-one can easily identify it by arithmetically
finding:
-the atomic mass and atomic number of the
particle that will make the sum in the two
sides of the equation equal
 The Big Bang
-existence of all matter
-believed to have started with the birth of the
universe
 Big Bang Theory
-most widely accepted explanation of the origin
of the universe
-evidence:
-by Edwin Hubble
-the universe is expanding
-because the entire universe was smaller than
an atom
-huge explosion of sphere about 1 cm diameter 14
billion years ago
-spreading its products
-fast moving cloud of gas
-accompanied by an emission of a huge amount of
light within the first second of explosion
-subatomic particles were formed such as:
protons
neutrons
electrons
 as the expanding universe cooled:
-protons and neutrons started to fuse (combine)
-to form heavier nuclei of deuterium (an isotope of
hydrogen with one neutron and one proton) and
some into helium
-atoms that have the same number of protons but
different number of neutrons
-written using the element symbol, the atomic mass
(A, left superscript) and atomic number
(Z, left subscript)

Example: 94 H (deuterium)
-a reaction in which two atomic nuclei join to form a
new type of nuclei

-resulted in the production of other light elements

and their isotopes few minutes after the big bang
-the universe was composed of approximately:

4
-75% (by mass) hydrogen
2
-25% helium (primarily He) and light elements
-trace amounts of lithium
-the process through which light elements formed
-have been formed:
-2 isotopes of helium (He-3 and He-4)
-H-3 (tritium), an isotope of hydrogen
1
1 p n H  
1
0
2
1
0
0
2
1 H  p  He  
1
1
3
2
0
0
2
1 H  H  He  n
2
1
3
2
1
0
2
1 H H H p
2
1
3
1
1
1
3
2 He  H  He  p
2
1
4
2
1
1
3
1 H  H  He  n
2
1
4
2
1
0
3
2 He  He  Be  
4
2
7
4
0
0
7
4 Be  n  Li  p
1
0
7
3
1
1
 Universe
-continuously expanded for several years
-cloud of hydrogen and helium gases condensed (form stars
including the sun)

 Over millions of years

-stars are made up of hydrogen became hotter and
denser
 during stellar evolution
-nuclear reactions continued
-produced elements heavier than lithium

 Light elements combined to form atoms of:

Carbon
Neon
Oxygen
Silicon
Iron
 -description of stars as they evolve and produce new elements

Figure 1-2. Cross section of the layered model of a red giant star
-showing the distribution of the first few elements (formed after the big bang)
 Layering
-increases the density of the star
 Younger Yellow Star
-made up of hydrogen
-fueled by the energy released from the
fusion of hydrogen nuclei (to form
helium)
 Outer Layer of the Star
-composed of burning hydrogen from the
nuclear fusions which procedure helium
 Once enough helium-4 is produced
-these nuclei become concentrated at the
core of the star
-making temperature hotter at the core
-continues
-but in a “shell” surrounding the helium core
Reactions in the hydrogen fusion shell:
1 1 2 0
1 H + 1 H 1 H + +1 e

2 1 3 0
1H +1 H 2 He +0 γ

3 3 4
2H +2 H 2 He + 11 H + 11 H
When the core reaches the temperature enough
for helium fusion to occur
 -Helium burning begins
-outer temperature become colder than the
core (causes the star to become red)
 -Beryllium-8 is formed
-another helium-4 nucleus
-fuses with beryllium-8 to form carbon-12
-these reactions happen in the helium
fusion shell (beneath the hydrogen fusion shell)
4 4 8
2 He + 2 He 4 Be

8 4 12
4 Be +2 He 6 C
-become more concentrated at the center
-produces a carbon core
-reaches a certain temperature to allow carbon fusion
-produces neon (within the carbon fusion shell)

nuclear reactions:
12 12 20 4
6 C+ 6 C 10 Ne +2 He

12 12 23 1
6 C + 6C 11 Na +1 H
 When neon
-becomes concentrated at the core
-undergoes fusion to produce oxygen
20 0 16 4
10 Ne + 0 γ 8 O + 2 He

20 4 24 0
10 Ne
+ He 2 12 O+ γ 0
 When oxygen
-become concentrated at the core
-fusion continues
-producing silicon

16 16 28 4
8 O + 8 O 14 Si + 2 He
 Lastly,
Fusion of silicon-28
-produces radioactive nickel-56
-decay to iron
 Nuclear Fusions
-happen between different nuclei
-to form the other elements
 Production of elements stops
-when iron is formed
 Iron
-the most stable nuclei
-unable to undergo fusion
 All nuclei energy
-produces great amount of energy
-fuel more nuclear reactions
 Energy Input
-is necessary to produce elements heavier than iron
What elements were formed during stellar evolution?
 Nuclear chemists
-work with various isotopic forms of elements to study
fission and fusion process
-study the effects of ionizing radiation on materials, living
organisms, and the environment
 Dr. Jose O. Juliano
-distinguished academician in the field of nuclear chemistry
and physics -one of the awardees of Ten Outstanding Young
Men for his contributions in nuclear science
-notable research work include:
a. rapid and non-destructive analysis of sulfur and calcium by
radio activation and photo
neutron counting and
b. the disintegration of iron-52 and iron-53
 C. Stellar Explosion
 End point of stellar formation and evolution
-the star has already exhausted its nuclear
fuel

 Red Giant Star

-exhausted the nuclear fuel of light elements
-core started to collapse
-led to explosion of the star
 Violent Explosion
-called supernova
-released huge amount of nuclear energy
-produced other elements heavier than
iron through
*neutron capture
*radioactive decay
 neutron capture
-can be as fast as a fraction of a second or
as slow few million years
-occurs as a seed nucleus capture neutrons
-forming a heavier isotope of the element
(can either be: stable or radioactive)

 stable isotopes
-can continue to capture neutrons and form
other heavier isotopes of the seed
nuclei
 unstable or radioactive isotopes
-will undergo beta decay
-producing an isotope of a new
element
 seed nuclei with few neutrons (from iron to
bismuth)
-neutron capture occurs slowly
-that beta decay of the product isotope
before it can capture another neutron
-referred to as slow process or s-process

 Example of s-process:
Formation of copper (Cu) and zinc nuclei
from nickel (Ni) nucleus
62 1 63
28 Ni + 0n 28 Ni

62 63 0
28 Ni 29 Cu + β
-1

63 1 64
29 Cu + 0n 29 Cu

64 64 0
29 Cu 30 Zn + -1 β

62
(beta decay of unstable 28 Ni)

(neutron capture)
64
(beta decay of unstable 29 Cu)
 Series of neutron capture
-may occur very fast that:
-the seed nucleus turns into heavier
nucleus before decay takes place
-rapid process or r-process
56 1 57
Fe
26 + 0n 26 Fe Series of neutron capture
57
Fe
26 + 10 n 58
26 Fe
58 1 59
Fe
26 + 0n 26Fe
59 59 0 59
26Fe 27 Co + -1 β
(beta decay of unstabe
26
Fe)
 -formed different isotope and much heavier
elements
-all these elements along with the fragments of
the star (during supernova)
-are released into the vast space
-gradually condensed to form:
*different planets (like Earth)
*new stars
*other heavenly bodies
 What elements were formed during and after
supernova?