Monday, February 4, 2008

Stability of nuclei with respect to proton-neutron ratio

Stability of nuclei with respect to proton-neutron ratio

It has been observed that the stability of nucleus depends upon the neutron to proton rati (n/P). In a plot of neutrons versus protons for nuclei of various elements, it has been observed that most th stable (non0radio active) elements lie in a belt, termed as stability belt or zone.

In the stability zone, for nuclei having atomic number up to 20, the n/p ratio is close to unity.

for nuclei having atomic number more than 20, the n/p ratio for stability exceeds unity and goes up to 1.5 for heavier nuclei.

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