Helium nuclei

A positively charged subatomic particle equivalent to a helium nucleus (a). 

The most important types of radioactive particles are alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, and X-rays. An alpha particle, which is symbolized as a, is equivalent to a helium nucleus, fHe. Thus, emission of an alpha particle results in a new isotope whose atomic number and atomic mass number are, respectively, 2 and 4 less than that for the unstable parent isotope. 

An alplia p uticle is an energetic helium nucleus. The alplia particle is released from a radioactive element witli a neutron to proton ratio tliat is too low. The helium nucleus consists of two protons and two neutrons. The alplia particle differs from a helimn atom in that it is emitted witliout any electrons. The resulting daughter product from tliis tj pe of transformation lias an atomic number Uiat is two less tluin its parent and an atomic mass number tliat is four less. Below is an e. aiiiple of alpha decay using polonium (Po) polonium has an atomic mass number of 210 (protons and neutrons) and atomic number of 84. 

The overall reaction thus converts 4 protons into 1 helium nucleus plus 2 positrons and 2 neutrinos ... 

These are shown in Fig. 2.3 and illustrate most convincingly the various quantum shells and subshells described in the preceding section. The energy required to remove the I electron from an atom of hydrogen is 13.606 eV (i.e. 1312 kJ per mole of H atoms). This rises to 2372 kJ mol for He (Is-) since the positive charge on the helium nucleus is twice that of the... 

Hellum-entwicklung, /. evolution of helium. >gehalt. m. helium content, -kem, m. helium nucleus. 

Alpha particle A helium nucleus He2+ ion, 30 emission, 513 scattering experiment, 26... 

Since the nucleus has positive charge, it attracts electrons (each with negative charge). If a nucleus attracts the number of electrons just equal to the nuclear charge, an electrically neutral atom is formed. Consider a nucleus containing two protons, a helium nucleus. When the helium atom has two electrons as well (2— charge), an electrically neutral helium atom results ... 

This means that most of the mass of the atom must be furnished by the nucleus. However, the mass of the nucleus is not determined by the number of protons alone. For example, a helium nucleus has two protons and a hydrogen nucleus has one proton. Yet a helium atom is measured to be four times heavier than a hydrogen atom. What can be the composition of the helium nucleus A partial answer to this problem was obtained when a third particle, the neutron, was... 

This model still does not explain what forces hold the nucleus together in spite of the proton repulsions. We do know that the helium nucleus is stable—it can exist indefinitely—but the model does not explain why it is stable. Thus we use models because they help us to explain many important facts, even though they do not explain all the facts. 

Now lei us turn to the problem of how the composition of a nucleus affects its stability. The forces that exist between the particles in the nucleus are very large. The most familiar of ihe intranuclear forces is the coulomb force of repulsion which the protons must exert on one another. In order to appreciate the magnitude of this repulsive force, let us compare the force between two protons when they are separated by 10 8 cm, as they are in the hydrogen molecule, with the force between two protons separated by 10-18 cm, as they are in a helium nucleus. In the first case we have... 

There are three common ways by which nuclei can approach the region of stability (1) loss of alpha particles (a-decay) (2) loss of beta particles (/3-decay) (3) capture of an orbital electron. We have already encountered the first type of radioactivity, a-decay, in equation (/0). Emission of a helium nucleus, or alpha particle, is a common form of radioactivity among nuclei with charge greater than 82, since it provides a mechanism by which these nuclei can be converted to new nuclei of lower charge and mass which lie in the belt of stability. The actinides, in particular, are very likely to decay in this way. 

The products are an a-particle (a helium nucleus), and a thorium isotope that is unstable and that rapidly decays by emitting successively two electrons ... 

When Rutherford allowed the radiation to pass between two electrically charged electrodes, he found that one type was attracted to the negatively charged electrode. He proposed that the radiation attracted to the negative electrode consists of positively charged particles, which he called a particles. From the charge and mass of the particles, he was able to identify them as helium atoms that had lost their two electrons. Once Rutherford had identified the atomic nucleus (in 1908, Section B), he realized that an a particle must be a helium nucleus, He2+. An a particle is denoted or simply a. We can think of it as a tightly bound cluster of two protons and two neutrons (Fig. 17.5). 

Ag (e) the helium nucleus with one less neutron than proton and (f) the nucleus of barium whose neutron-proton ratio is 1.25. 

Figure 3.2 The formation of a helium nucleus from two protons and two neutrons results in a loss of 5 x 10 kilograms.

Extracting an electron from helium takes less energy than expected because of electron-electron repulsion. The helium nucleus actually does pull twice as a hard as a hydrogen nucleus does, but the two electrons in helium are also repelling one another. The net effect is to make an electron in a multielectron atom easier to remove than one would expect if the other electrons were not present. 

Alpha Particle—A positively charged particle ejected spontaneously from the nuclei of some radioactive elements. It is identical to a helium nucleus, i.e., 2 neutrons and two protons, with a mass number of 4 and an electrostatic charge of +2. 

Ans. There is no difference. All three are representations of an alpha particle (or a helium nucleus). 

Table 2.2 lists the most important syntheses occurring in the stars. The main products include the bioelements C, O, N and S. The synthesis of the elements began in the initial phase after the big bang, with that of the proton and the helium nucleus. These continue to be formed in the further development of the stars. The stable nuclide 4He was the starting material for subsequent nuclear syntheses. Carbon-12 can be formed in a triple a-process, i.e., one in which three helium... 

The alpha particle is a helium nucleus produced from the radioactive decay of heavy metals and some nuclear reactions. Alpha decay often occurs among nuclei that have a favorable neutron/proton ratio, but contain too many nucleons for stability. The alpha particle is a massive particle consisting of an assembly of two protons and two neutrons and a resultant charge of +2. 

The alpha particle is a helium nucleus produced from the radioactive decay of heavy metals and some nuclear reactions. 

Alpha (a.) decay. As we shall see later, the alpha particle, which is a helium nucleus, is a stable particle. For some unstable heavy nuclei, the emission of this particle occurs. Because the a particle contains a magic number of both protons and neutrons (2), there is a tendency for this particular combination of particles to be the one emitted rather than some other combination such as s3Li. In alpha decay, the mass number decreases by 4 units, the number of protons decreases by 2, and the number of neutrons decreases by 2. An example of alpha decay is the following ... 

Proton-proton cycle The nuclear reaction sequence combining four hydrogen atoms to form one helium nucleus. 

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