Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The neutron number (symbol N) is the number of neutrons in a nuclide. Atomic number (proton number) plus neutron number equals mass number: Z + N = A. The difference between the neutron number and the atomic number is known as the neutron excess: D = N − Z = A − 2Z.
Neutrons are required for the stability of nuclei, with the exception of the single-proton hydrogen nucleus. Neutrons are produced copiously in nuclear fission and fusion. They are a primary contributor to the nucleosynthesis of chemical elements within stars through fission, fusion, and neutron capture processes.
Since protons and neutrons are both baryons, the mass number A is identical with the baryon number B of the nucleus (and also of the whole atom or ion). The mass number is different for each isotope of a given chemical element, and the difference between the mass number and the atomic number Z gives the number of neutrons (N) in the nucleus: N ...
The multiplication factor, k, is defined as (see nuclear chain reaction): k = number of neutrons in one generation / number of neutrons in preceding generation . If k is greater than 1, the chain reaction is supercritical, and the neutron population will grow exponentially.
^c For free neutrons; in most common nuclei, neutrons are stable. The masses of their antiparticles are assumed to be identical, and no experiments have refuted this to date. Current experiments show any relative difference between the masses of the proton and antiproton must be less than 2 × 10 −9 [ PDG 1 ] and the difference between the ...
Neutron flux in asymptotic giant branch stars and in supernovae is responsible for most of the natural nucleosynthesis producing elements heavier than iron.In stars there is a relatively low neutron flux on the order of 10 5 to 10 11 cm −2 s −1, resulting in nucleosynthesis by the s-process (slow neutron-capture process).
Therefore, a nucleus with an even number of protons and an even number of neutrons has 0 spin and positive parity. A nucleus with an even number of protons and an odd number of neutrons (or vice versa) has the parity of the last neutron (or proton), and the spin equal to the total angular momentum of this neutron (or proton).
A schematic of the nucleus of an atom indicating β − radiation, the emission of a fast electron from the nucleus (the accompanying antineutrino is omitted). In the Rutherford model for the nucleus, a red sphere was a proton with positive charge, and a blue sphere was a proton tightly bound to an electron, with no net charge.