Particles and radiation

Question 1

What are the constituents of an atom?

Answer 1

Protons, Neutrons and Electrons

Question 2

What are the properties of a proton?

Answer 2

Rest mass: 1.673x10^-27kg
Rest mass (nucleon): 1.661x10^-27kg
Charge: +1.60x10^-19C

Question 3

What are the properties of a neutron?

Answer 3

Rest mass: 1.675x10^-27kg
Rest mass (nucleon): 1.661x10^-27kg
Charge: 0C

Question 4

What are the properties of an electron?

Answer 4

Rest mass: 9.11x10^-31kg
Charge: -1.60x10^-19C

Question 5

What is the atomic mass unit?

Answer 5

Mass of a nucleon.
1u = 1.661x10^-27kg

Question 6

How do you represent a nucleus using isotope notation?

Question 7

What is the equation for specific charge?

Answer 7

Specific charge = Charge/Mass
C.Kg^-1 = C/Kg

Question 8

What is the role of the strong nuclear force within the nucleus?

Answer 8

Binds nucleons together within the nucleus (overcoming electrostatic repulsion between protons)
Repulsive under 0.5fm, Attractive from 0.5fm-3fm.

Question 9

What is alpha decay and it’s equation?

Answer 9

A by-product of the strong force.
Where large, unstable nucleus emit an α-particle made of two protons and two neutrons.
^A_BX = ^A-4_B-2Y + ⁴₂α

Question 10

What are the properties of alpha particles?

Answer 10

Highly ionising
Least penetrating (blocked by paper)
Small range in air
Charge of +2
equivalent to a He nucleus
Usually occurs in heavy nuclei (nucleon number>200)

Question 11

What is the equation for the beta-minus decay?

Question 12

What are the properties of beta particles?

Question 13

How did beta decay experiments lead to the hypothesised existence of the neutrino?

Question 14

What is the equation for beta-plus decay?

Question 15

What happens during electron capture?

Question 16

What is the equation for electron capture?

Question 17

What happens during gamma decay?

Question 18

What are the properties of gamma radiation?

Question 19

What is antimatter?

Question 20

What are the similarities and differences between matter and antimatter?

Question 21

What is the electron-volt?

Question 22

What happens during annihilation?

Question 23

What is the equation for the photon energy after annihilation?

Question 24

What happens during pair production?

Question 25

What is the equation for the minimum energy required for pair production?

Question 26

What are the four fundamental interactions?

Question 27

What is the exchange particle for the electromagnetic interaction?

Question 28

What are the exchange particles for the weak nuclear interaction?

Question 29

What are the rules for Feynman diagrams?

Question 30

Feynman Diagrams for: - Electromagnetic repulsion - Electromagnetic attraction - Beta-minus decay - Beta-plus decay - Electron capture

Question 31

What is a hadron?

Answer 31

W

Question 32

What is a baryon?

Question 33

What is the only stable baryon?

Question 34

What is a meson?

Question 35

What is a pion?

Question 36

What is a kaon and how does it decay?

Question 37

What is a strange particle, how are they formed and how do they decay?

Question 38

What is a lepton?

Question 39

What is a muon and how does it decay?

Question 40

What type of particles experience the strong nuclear interaction?

Question 41

Why does particle physics rely on large multidisciplinary teams to validate new knowledge?

Question 42

What is the quark combination of a proton?

Question 43

What is the quark combination of a neutron?

Question 44

What are the quark combinations of the three pions?

Question 45

What are the quark combinations of the four kaons?

Question 46

What quantities must be conserved in any interaction?

Question 47

What quantities must be conserved in any strong nuclear interaction?

Question 48

In what type of interaction can the flavour of a quark change?

Question 49

What is the photoelectric effect?

Question 50

What is the work function of a metal?

Question 51

What is the threshold frequency?

Question 52

What is the equation linking the threshold frequency of a metal to its work function?

Question 53

What was the evidence against the wave theory of light?

Question 54

What is the photon explanation of the photoelectric effect?

Question 55

Why is the kinetic energy in the photoelectric effect equation a maximum?

Question 56

How does a photocell work?

Question 57

Why does the photocurrent reach a saturation current when a positive voltage is applied?

Question 58

What is the stopping potential and its equation?

Question 59

Calculations and equations for work function and the photoelectric effect

Question 60

What is the definition of an electron volt, and its value in joules?

Question 61

What is ionisation?

Question 62

What is excitation?

Question 63

What is de-excitation?

Question 64

What are the differences between excitation with photons and excitation via collisions?

Question 65

What is thermionic emission?

Question 66

How does a gas discharge tube work?

Question 67

What are atomic energy levels?

Question 68

What can be said about the energy levels of different elements?

Question 69

What is the ground state?

Question 70

What is an excited state?

Question 71

How is an emission spectrum formed?

Question 72

What does an emission spectrum look like?

Question 73

How is an absorption spectrum formed?

Question 74

What does an absorption spectrum look like?

Question 75

What is fluorescence and how does it relate to energy levels?

Question 76

How does a fluorescent tube work?

Question 77

Energy level calculations

Question 78

What is evidence for the wave nature of light?

Question 79

What is evidence for the particle nature of light?

Question 80

What is evidence for the wave nature of electrons?

Question 81

What is evidence for the particle nature of electrons?

Question 82

What is the appearance of an electron diffraction pattern?

Question 83

How does the momentum of the electrons affect the diffraction pattern?

Question 84

What needs to happen before a new theory is accepted?

Question 85

de Broglie calcs