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Nuclear reactions
Intermediate
Transformation of nuclei by bombardment.
Nuclei change when struck by particles, conserving charge, mass number, energy and momentum: ¹⁴N + α → ¹⁷O + p (Rutherford, 1919).
Check A and Z on both sides.
Q-value tells the energy balance.
In more detail
Nuclear reactions change one nucleus into another, through particle bombardment or other processes. Conservation of mass number, charge, energy and momentum determines the outcomes.
Real-world uses
- Nuclear reactions produce medical isotopes and power in reactors.
- Particle accelerators induce reactions to study nuclear structure.
- Physicists create new isotopes in particle accelerators by bombarding targets with fast particles.
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Frequently asked questions
What is conserved?
Mass number, charge, energy, momentum and nucleon number.
How are reactions written?
Using symbols for nuclei and particles, with mass and charge balanced on both sides.
What is a nuclear reaction?
A process in which a nucleus is changed by collision with a particle, producing new nuclei and particles.
Related topics in Atomic & Nuclear Physics
Activity · Radioactive series · Carbon dating · Q-value · Nuclear fission · Chain reaction