Objectives for November 6, 2003.
[1] Know what alpha, beta, and gamma particles are. Know how their penetration powers compare, and know why.
[2] Be able to provide some cogent arguments against the early idea that there were electrons inside of a nucleus.
[3] Be able to explain why the idea that there are neutrons inside of a nucleus does not suffer from the same problems as those discussed in part [2] above.
[4] Know the meaning of the terms "nuclide", "isotope", "isobar", "isotone", and "nucleon".
[5] Know what is meant by the term "Binding Energy", be able to calculate binding energies for various nuclides given sufficient information, and be able to use the calculated binding energies to predict the relative stability of different nuclides.
[6] Know the approximate size of a nucleus. Know how this size relates to the number of nucleons in the nucleus, and be able to explain what this dependence implies about the nature of the strong force.
[7] Be able to describe some experimental evidence indicating that nucleons are composite particles. Be able to describe the nature of the constituents of nucleons.
[8] Understand how the number of protons compares with the number of neutrons for stable isotopes. Be able to provide a qualitative description of why this relationship holds.
[9] Understand some nuclear mass models, and know why we are forced to use them.
[10] Understand the relevance and reason for each term in the semi-empirical nuclear mass formula.
[11] Understand the mathematics of radioactive decay.
[12] Understand the details of alpha, beta, and gamma decay.