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Do nucleons hold protons together in the nucleus?
Yes, the protons help hold an atomic nucleus together. Let's look at things and figure this one out. Protons are positively charged, as you know, and like charges repel. That's basic electrostatics. The Coulomb forces of the protons push them away from each other. Further, when protons are packed into an atomic nucleus, they're still pushing away from each other. Let's consider what happens when an atomic nucleus forms. The term nucleon is how we refer to protons and neutrons when they are used as building blocks of an atomic nucleus. And the nucleons all undergo what is called mass deficit when that atomic nucleus if forced together in nuclear fusion. All the nucleons lose some mass during the fusion process, and this mass is converted into nuclear binding energy. The nuclear binding energy is also called nuclear glue, or residual strong interaction (residual strong force). And it is this force that overcomes the repulsive force of the protons, and it keeps the nucleus together. It turns out that both the protons and neutrons are involved in the "magic" that holds the nucleus together, as we've seen. Certainly the protons cannot do it by themselves, and the neutrons are necessary. But the protons have to give up some mass as well so that residual strong force can appear and mediate the fusion process that holds the nucleus together. It's really that simple.
Why does some elements have more isotopes than others?
Radioactivity stems from the instability of the nucleus of a given atom. Remember that in an atomic nucleus, protons and neutrons are held together with nuclear glue or binding energy (1H being the exception). Protons don't like each other to begin with. But under the most extraordinary conditions (like in a star), protons and neutrons can be forced together and fused (fusion) to create more complex nuclei. And in a supernova, elements heavier than iron (the heaviest "regular" element that a star makes during "normal" fusion) are created. In all this "creativity" and among all the products that result, some atomic nuclei that are formed aren't really happy with their arrangement. They are unstable, and at some time in the future they will spontaneously break apart. In some arrangements of nucleons (the particles that make up an atomic nucleus, the protons and neutrons), the ratio of the two types of particles, the ratio of protons to neutrons, is one that "strains" the combinational power that holds them together and other arrangements are possible. It is the number and type of nucleons that make up a nucleus that determines how stable it is. There are many stable nuclei. There are many combinations that are not possible - they will never form, they cannot form - and then there are the unstable nuclei. The different numbers of protons and neutrons that make up a nucleus make for a different "dynamic" in each atomic nucleus in which they are confined. Some are structures that will stay together, and in some of the structures formed, the nucleons can "shift" and break the structure of the nucleus, thereby allowing the nucleons to move to a lower energy level state. In radioactive decay, a shift in the nuclear structure and the release of a particle (or particles) and/or energy, allows the remaining nucleons to "rewrite" the terms and conditions of their "confinement" in the nucleus. This spontaneous transition is what radioactive decay is. The possibilities are why some nuclei are stable and some are not, and why some are more stable than others. It is impossible to say when any given unstable atom will decay, but over a large number of them, an "avarage" rate of decay can be quantified. That will allow us to know the half life of that radionuclide.
Why are there only neutrons in a neutron star?
Neutron stars are composed (mostly) of neutrons because during the star's life, the fusion processes strip apart atoms, leaving the electrons behind inside the star's core. When the star runs out of fuel and fuses up the atomic chain and hits nickel, it collapses. The pressure from the collapse is enough to force all those electrons together and as you compress them more and more, the free protons from the fusion processes bond with the electrons, forming neutrons. Put simply, it's mostly neutrons because it's just doesn't have enough mass to be made of mostly quarks or become a singularity.
How is nuclear energy created?
Nuclear energy is produced by one of two methods, fusion or fission. Fusion is the bonding of atomic nuclei or nuclear particles (nucleons - protons and neutrons). Fission, on the other hand is the splitting of the atom. As the atoms fuse or split they release energy. Lots of it. And most of it is heat energy. In nuclear weapons, the energy is released "all at once" to create a blast. If the energy is released in a "controlled" way, we can release heat at a "useable" rate and apply it to boiling water to make steam. In fusion, protons or neutrons or the nuclei of atoms are forced together and are fused to make a new atomic nucleus. The release of lots and lots of energy accompanies this reaction. That's what powers stars. Currently we can't really do any fusion reactions to make useful power. There are a few agencies working on fusion devices, but the high temperatures required to attain fusion require very special materials and controls. The current "state of the art" fusion facility is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (and a link is provided). Fusion is unlikely to become a useful source of power for many years. But what about fission? Nuclear fission involves the splitting of large atoms, usually uranium (or sometimes plutonium). When large atoms fission they produce two smaller atoms or fission fragments (and a couple of neutrons and lots of energy). The total mass of the products is less than the mass of the original atom. This mass difference is turned into energy in accordance with the Einstein equation E=mc2. Most of the energy appears in the recoil of the fission fragments, and the heat that is generated is considerable. It is that heat that we capture to turn water into steam to generate electricity. Links are provided to related articles.
When two nuclei of light elements are forced together at extremely high temperature what happens?
When two nuclei of light elements are forced together at extremely high temperature, they can undergo nuclear fusion, releasing a large amount of energy in the process. This is the same process that powers the sun and other stars.
Why are atoms forced together as a solid within the core?
The strong nuclear force forces the neutrons and protons to " stick " to one another in the nucleus.
A collapsing star in which the nuclei cannot be forced together any more?
A neutron star! A neutron star is actually just a great bundle of neutrons (remember the atom: proton +, electron -, and neutron no charge). As a great star (about 8x the mass of the sun) collapses in upon its own weight after running out of fuel, it literally has enough energy to force the electrons and protons together to form neutrons.
Which happens on the sun fission or fusion?
The nuclear reaction within the Sun is fusion. Four hydrogen nuclei (four protons) are forced together under the intense pressure present to form a helium nucleus (two protons and two neutrons). The neutrons are formed from protons by the weak interaction. The resulting loss of mass is accompanied with a release in binding energy, which drives the cycle and emits tremendous radiation energy.
Do nucleons hold protons together in the nucleus?
Yes, the protons help hold an atomic nucleus together. Let's look at things and figure this one out. Protons are positively charged, as you know, and like charges repel. That's basic electrostatics. The Coulomb forces of the protons push them away from each other. Further, when protons are packed into an atomic nucleus, they're still pushing away from each other. Let's consider what happens when an atomic nucleus forms. The term nucleon is how we refer to protons and neutrons when they are used as building blocks of an atomic nucleus. And the nucleons all undergo what is called mass deficit when that atomic nucleus if forced together in nuclear fusion. All the nucleons lose some mass during the fusion process, and this mass is converted into nuclear binding energy. The nuclear binding energy is also called nuclear glue, or residual strong interaction (residual strong force). And it is this force that overcomes the repulsive force of the protons, and it keeps the nucleus together. It turns out that both the protons and neutrons are involved in the "magic" that holds the nucleus together, as we've seen. Certainly the protons cannot do it by themselves, and the neutrons are necessary. But the protons have to give up some mass as well so that residual strong force can appear and mediate the fusion process that holds the nucleus together. It's really that simple.
Nuclear reactions convert what into energy?
In a Nuclear reaction, an atom of one element changes into another element or into an isotope of the first one, depending on what sort of radioactive decay it undergoes. The Nucleus of every atom contains Neutrons and Protons. All the Protons being positively charged repel each other. Hence a large Nuclear Force called Binding Force acts on all the protons and keeps them forced into the Nucleus. When the number of protons in the nucleus decreases due to a Nuclear reaction, the amount of force needed to hold all the protons in the Nucleus decreases. The remaining force is given out as heat energy.
What reaction requires the highest temperature?
Nuclear fusion reactions. This is where an atomic nucleus (or neutrons/protons) are forced together with another nucleus to form a heavier nucleus (a new and heavier element). this needs a huge amount of energy (temperature), but when it is achieved, a large amount of energy is then released. This is what happens in the sun, hydrogen is fused together to form helium, releasing a large amount of solar energy in the process. Some heavier elements can be made in the same way, but require even more energy. The heaviest elements such as gold, Uranium, molybdenum Niobium etc.. can only be created when a very large star explodes as a super nova.
Why does some elements have more isotopes than others?
Radioactivity stems from the instability of the nucleus of a given atom. Remember that in an atomic nucleus, protons and neutrons are held together with nuclear glue or binding energy (1H being the exception). Protons don't like each other to begin with. But under the most extraordinary conditions (like in a star), protons and neutrons can be forced together and fused (fusion) to create more complex nuclei. And in a supernova, elements heavier than iron (the heaviest "regular" element that a star makes during "normal" fusion) are created. In all this "creativity" and among all the products that result, some atomic nuclei that are formed aren't really happy with their arrangement. They are unstable, and at some time in the future they will spontaneously break apart. In some arrangements of nucleons (the particles that make up an atomic nucleus, the protons and neutrons), the ratio of the two types of particles, the ratio of protons to neutrons, is one that "strains" the combinational power that holds them together and other arrangements are possible. It is the number and type of nucleons that make up a nucleus that determines how stable it is. There are many stable nuclei. There are many combinations that are not possible - they will never form, they cannot form - and then there are the unstable nuclei. The different numbers of protons and neutrons that make up a nucleus make for a different "dynamic" in each atomic nucleus in which they are confined. Some are structures that will stay together, and in some of the structures formed, the nucleons can "shift" and break the structure of the nucleus, thereby allowing the nucleons to move to a lower energy level state. In radioactive decay, a shift in the nuclear structure and the release of a particle (or particles) and/or energy, allows the remaining nucleons to "rewrite" the terms and conditions of their "confinement" in the nucleus. This spontaneous transition is what radioactive decay is. The possibilities are why some nuclei are stable and some are not, and why some are more stable than others. It is impossible to say when any given unstable atom will decay, but over a large number of them, an "avarage" rate of decay can be quantified. That will allow us to know the half life of that radionuclide.
Why are there only neutrons in a neutron star?
Neutron stars are composed (mostly) of neutrons because during the star's life, the fusion processes strip apart atoms, leaving the electrons behind inside the star's core. When the star runs out of fuel and fuses up the atomic chain and hits nickel, it collapses. The pressure from the collapse is enough to force all those electrons together and as you compress them more and more, the free protons from the fusion processes bond with the electrons, forming neutrons. Put simply, it's mostly neutrons because it's just doesn't have enough mass to be made of mostly quarks or become a singularity.
When During nuclear fusion atoms of one element are forced together to form another element and radiated energy?
truuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeee
What is released when a proton and electron are forced together?
This is called inverse beta decay and it forms a neutron. Normally a neutron will decay into a proton and electron, but the opposite will happen given enough energy. Coincidentally, this is how neutron stars are formed (the immense pressure from gravity overcomes the force separating protons and electrons.)
What is nuclear fusion in the Sun?
This is the fusing of hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms, and in some cases heavier elements as well. The dominant reaction in our Sun is the combining of hydrogen isotope atoms to form helium atoms. Deuterium atoms, which are hydrogen atoms which have a neutron, are forced together to form a helium atom, which is two protons and two neutrons, and some energy is produced. The Sun is slowing using up its supply of hydrogen, but there is enough to last for at least another two or three billion years.
What is the force that holds a nucleus of an atom together?
The nuclear force or nuclear binding energy holds an atomic nucleus together. (Some science teachers insist it's called the strong nuclear force, which is not quite correct.)Nuclear binding energy is this nuclear force that overcomes the repulsive electrostatic force of the protons, which is trying to push the nucleus apart. The nuclear binding energy is created from what is called mass deficit. When an atomic nucleus is fused, all the protons and neutrons in that nucleus give up a small amount of their mass, and this mass is converted into the binding energy that holds the nucleus together. And if you guessed that an atomic nucleus has less mass than the sum of the masses of its constituent protons and neutrons, the nucleons, you would be correct.We sometimes call the binding energy nuclear glue, and it is derived from the stong nuclear force or strong interaction. That also gives rise to another term used for nuclear binding energy, and that is residual strong force. The reason we say that nuclear binding energy is derived from the strong interaction is that the stong interaction actually holds individual protons and neutrons together. It is the strong interaction that binds quarks and gluons together into individual protons and neutrons. And it is in nuclear fusion that the strong interaction mediates the creation of the binding energy to hold a newly fused nucleus together.Answer: Nuclear binding energy or residual strong forceWe know protons are all positively charged, and a fundamental law of electrostatics is that like charges repel. But under extreme conditions, nuclear fusion can occur. Positive charges are forced together with neutrons, and all of the particles undergo changes. Each particle gives up a small amount of mass, and this mass is converted in to nuclear binding energy or nuclear glue. And it is this nuclear glue, what is called the residual strong force, that overcomes the repulsion between the protons and binds all the particles in the nucleus together.At the extremely small distances between the protons, the binding energy is greater than the electrostatic repulsion trying to force the protons apart. This is true for elements up to those at the upper end of the periodic table. The heaviest elements experience instability because of the large numbers of protons in their nuclei, and for the heaviest elements, there is no way a "permanent" nuclear arrangement can be made. The residual strong force cannot act across these large nuclei to make them stable, and they exhibit nuclear instability. This results in them being subject to radioactive decay.It is not entirely correct to say that the strong force holds atomic nuclei together, as the strong force (strong interaction) actually holds individual protons and neutrons together. It does this by tightly binding the quarks and gluons that make them up. It is the residual strong force that holds atomic nuclei together. That is the source (through mass deficit) that creates the nuclear binding energy or nuclear glue that acts to oppose the electrostatic repulsion of the protons. You might be aware that the strong nuclear force, along with the weak nuclear force, the electromagnetic force, and gravity, are the four fundamental forces in the universe.It is called, appropriately enough, the nuclear force.It goes by several names: strong force, strong nuclear force, and color force. They're all describing the same thing.Strictly speaking, the strong force is what holds quarks together in a hadron. The force that holds hadrons together is the residual color force.the strong nuclear force is created between nucleons by the exchange of perticles called mesons (changeless particles hadrons made up of one quark and one antiquark).as long as the meson can happen,the strong nuclear force is able to hold the participating nucleons togetherThe nucleus is held together by the strong forceThe electrons are held in the atom by the electromagnetic forceProtons and neutrons are held together in the nucleus by the nuclear force, also known as the residual strong atomic force, also known as residual binding energy.Strong atomic force (binding energy) holds quarks together to form protons and neutrons. It is the strongest force in the universe, followed by a factor of about 100 by the electromagnetic force, and then by many orders of magnitude by the weak atomic force, and then by many many orders of magnitude by gravity. Since it is stronger than the electromagnetic force, it easily overcomes the tendency of the up quark (charge +2/3) and down quark (charge -1/3) to repel each other.Of course, all of this is a function of distance, so gravity has the most effect, when you consider distance, but in the range of a single proton or neutron, the strong atomic force is king.What is left over from holding quarks together is called residual binding energy, or simply, the nuclear force. The nuclear force holds protons and neutrons together. While less than the force of binding energy, it is still more powerful than the electromagnetic force, so the protons with a charge of +1, though tending to repel each other, still stick to each other.Well, its not quite that simple...In the distance of a proton or a neutron, there is no question about strength but, beyond that, the nuclear force degrades with distance, as does the electromagnetic force. Interestingly the nuclear force degrades faster than the electromagnetic force...The ramification of this is that, for smaller nuclei, with exceptions noted below, the nuclear force wins out over the electromagnetic force, and the nucleus is stable. This holds true up to atomic number 82 - iron. Starting at atomic number 83 - bismuth - the electromagnetic force starts to win out over the nuclear force, simply because of the size of the nucleus, and the nucleus becomes unstable. As a result, no nuclide starting at bismuth and up is stable - they are all radioactive, while most nuclides from iron on down are stable.The exception, as promised, is that we still have the issue of proton to neutron balance. It turns out that there is an ideal configuration, based on many things, which is beyond the scope of this question. Suffice to say that 80 of the first 82 elements, from hydrogen to lead, excluding technetium and promethium, have at least one stable isotope.In an atomic nucleus, protons and neutrons are held in together by what is officially known as the strong nuclear force. The exchange particle by which this force manifests itself is the pi meson.
