Nuclear bombardment reactions using particle accelerators

Z = 92—can be produced via nuclear bombardment in a particle accelerator. 6. Nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which a large nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei. A nuclear power plant uses the energy released in a fission reaction to generate electricity. Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two small nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus. Solar energy is an example of a fusion reaction. 7. A chain reaction has one of its own reactants as a product, allowing the original reaction to continue. The minimum quantity of matter necessary for a chain reaction to continue is its critical mass. A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor in which fissionable fuel is produced from nonfissionable isotopes. 

As we noted in Section 21.6, energy can be obtained by combining light nuclei into a heavier nucleus by nuclear fusion. Such fusion reactions have been observed in the laboratory by means of bombardment using particle accelerators. Deuterons (iH nuclei), for example, can be accelerated toward targets containing deuterium (iH atoms) or tritium (iH atoms). The reactions are... 

A.ccekrator-Producedlsotopes. Particle accelerators cause nuclear reactions by bombarding target materials, which are often enriched in a particular stable isotope, with rapidly moving protons, deuterons, tritons, or electrons. Proton reactions are most commonly used for production purposes. 

The number of naturally occurring radionuclides is limited and few are of analytical value. For the majority of purposes artificial radionuclides are manufactured. Bombardment reactions are generally used in their production. A suitable target material is exposed to an intense flux of the appropriate particles in a nuclear reactor or particle accelerator such as a cyclotron. Thermal neutrons in the reactor... 

Radiopharmaceuticals are labeled with artificial radionuclides that are obtained by bombardment of stable nuclei with subatomic particles or photons. Nuclear reactions produced in such a way convert stable in unstable (radioactive nuclei). Several kind of devices are used for such purposes, including nuclear reactors, particle accelerators, and generators. 

Many elements have been synthesized by bombarding relatively heavy atoms with high-energy particles in particle accelerators. Complete the following nuclear reactions, which have been used to synthesize elements. 

Many nuclear reactions have been induced by such bombardment techniques. At the time of development of particle accelerators, there were a few gaps among the first 92 elements in the periodic table. Particle accelerators were used between 1937 and 1941 to synthesize three of the four missing elements numbers 43 (technetium), 85 (astatine), and 87 (francium). 

Nuclear scientists have synthesized approximately 1600 nuclei not known in nature. More might be discovered with heavy-ion bombardment using high-energy particle accelerators. Complete and balance the following reactions, which involve heavy-ion bombardments ... 

Plutonium is made in nuclear reactors by the above reaction where is the target nucleus. Although there are other reactions using different combinations of particles in Equation 2, in most cases these require energetic bombarding particles generated in accelerators. Also, since there are no common radioisotopes that generate neutrons, there is essentially no probability that other materials in laboratories will be made radioactive by exposure to radiation from byproduct materials. 

Most synthetic isotopes used in medicine and scientific research are made using neutrons as the bombarding particles. Because neutrons are neutral, they are not repelled by the nucleus. Consequently, they do not need to be accelerated to cause nuclear reactions. The neutrons are produced in nuclear reactors. For example, cobalt-60, which is used in cancer radiation therapy, is produced by neutron capture. Iron-58 is placed in a nuclear reactor and bombarded by neutrons to trigger the reactions sequence... 

Radioactive nuclei emit a particles, 13 particles, positrons, or y rays. The equation for a nuclear reaction includes the particles emitted, and both the mass numbers and the atomic numbers must balance. Uranium-238 is the parent of a natural radioactive decay series. A number of radioactive isotopes, such as and C, can be used to date objects. Artificially radioactive elements are created by the bombardment of other elements by accelerated neutrons, protons, or a particles. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a large nucleus into smaller nuclei plus neutrons. When these neutrons are captured efficiently by other nuclei, an uncontrollable chain reaction can occur. Nuclear reactors use the heat... 

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