# Bombardment with Positive Ions

Submitted by ChemPRIME Staff on Thu, 12/16/2010 - 15:57

A powerful method of artificially inducing nuclear reactions is the bombardment of a sample of matterAnything that occupies space and has mass; contrasted with energy. with ions. When the bombarding particle is positively charged, which is usually the case, it must have a very high kinetic energy to overcome the coulombic repulsion of the nucleusThe collection of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom that contains nearly all of the atoms's mass. being bombarded. This is particularly necessary if the nucleus has a high nuclear charge. To give these charged particles the necessary energy, an accelerator or “atom smasher” such as a cyclotron must be used. The cyclotron was developed mainly by E. O. Lawrence (1901 to 1958) at the University of California. A schematic diagram of a cyclotron is shown in Fig. 1. Two hollow D-shaped plates (dees) are enclosed in an evacuated chamber between the poles of a powerful electromagnet. The two dees are connected to a source of high-frequencyThe rate at which a periodic event occurs; specifically, the rate at which the waves of electromagnetic radiation pass a point. alternating current, so that when one is positive, the other is negative. Ions are introduced at the center and are accelerated because of their alternate attraction to the left- and right-hand dees. Since the magnetic field would make ions traveling at constant speed move in a circle, the net result is that they follow a spiral path as they accelerate until they finally emerge at the outer edge of one of the dees.

Figure 1 A cyclotron. The spiral path of the ions is shown in color.

Some examples of the kinds of nuclear reactions which are possible with the aid of an accelerator are as follows:

${}_{\text{12}}^{\text{24}}\text{Mg + }{}_{\text{1}}^{\text{1}}\text{H}\to \text{ }{}_{\text{11}}^{\text{21}}\text{Na + }{}_{\text{2}}^{\text{4}}\text{He }$     (1)

${}_{\text{3}}^{\text{7}}\text{Li + }{}_{\text{1}}^{\text{2}}\text{H}\to \text{ }{}_{\text{4}}^{\text{8}}\text{Be + }{}_{\text{0}}^{\text{1}}n\text{ }$           (2)

${}_{\text{46}}^{\text{106}}\text{Pb + }{}_{\text{2}}^{\text{4}}\text{He +}\to \text{ }{}_{\text{47}}^{\text{109}}\text{Ag + }{}_{\text{1}}^{\text{1}}\text{H}$      (3)

A particularly interesting type of nuclear reaction performed in an accelerator is the production of the transuranium elements. These elements have atomic numbers greater than that of uranium (92) and are too unstable to persist for long in nature. The heaviest of them can be prepared by bombarding nuclei which are already heavy with some of the lighter nuclei:

${}_{\text{92}}^{\text{238}}\text{U + }{}_{\text{6}}^{\text{12}}\text{C}\to \text{ }{}_{\text{98}}^{\text{246}}\text{Cf + 4}{}_{\text{0}}^{\text{1}}n$      (4)
${}_{\text{92}}^{\text{238}}\text{U + }{}_{\text{7}}^{\text{14}}\text{N}\to \text{ }{}_{\text{99}}^{\text{247}}\text{Es + 5}{}_{\text{0}}^{\text{1}}n\text{ }$      (5)

${}_{\text{98}}^{\text{252}}\text{Cf + }{}_{\text{5}}^{\text{10}}\text{B}\to \text{ }{}_{\text{103}}^{\text{257}}\text{Lr + 5}{}_{\text{0}}^{\text{1}}n\text{ }$      (6)

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## Term of the Day

Abbreviation for curieA unit of radioactive decay; equal to 3.70 x 1010 disintegrations per second; abbreviated Ci., a unitA particular measure of a physical quantity that is used to express the magnitude of the physical quantity; for example, the meter is the unit of the physical quantity, length. of radioactiveDescribes a substance that gives off radiation‐alpha particles, beta particles, or gamma rays‐by the disintegration of its nucleus. decay; equal to 3.70 x 1010 disintegrations per second.

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