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Nuclear chemistry is the sub-field of chemistry dealing with radioactivity, nuclear processes, and transformations in the nuclei of atoms, such as nuclear transmutation and nuclear properties. It is the chemistry of radioactive elements such as the actinides , radium and radon together with the chemistry associated with equipment (such as ...
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics , which studies the atom as a whole, including its electrons .
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to produce one or more new nuclides. Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a transformation of at least one nuclide to another.
Although physics and chemistry are branches of science that both study matter, they differ in the scopes of their respective subjects. While physics focuses on phenomena such as force, motion, electromagnetism, elementary particles, and spacetime, [3] chemistry is concerned mainly with the structure and reactions of atoms and molecules, but does not necessarily deal with non-baryonic matter.
Atomic physics is the subfield of AMO that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus, while molecular physics is the study of the physical properties of molecules. The term atomic physics is often associated with nuclear power and nuclear bombs , due to the synonymous use of atomic and nuclear in standard English .
But in an actual nucleus, as understood by modern nuclear physics, the nucleons are partially delocalized and organize themselves according to the laws of quantum chromodynamics. In physics and chemistry, a nucleon is either a proton or a neutron, considered in its role as a component of an atomic nucleus.
In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fission cross-section ), density, shape, enrichment , purity, temperature, and surroundings.
In nuclear physics, atomic physics, and nuclear chemistry, the nuclear shell model utilizes the Pauli exclusion principle to model the structure of atomic nuclei in terms of energy levels. [1] The first shell model was proposed by Dmitri Ivanenko (together with E. Gapon) in 1932.