Download Nuclear Physics, Chemistry and Notation

GES 332 Stars and Stellar Systems
Nuclear Chemistry Notation
A nucleus X contains a protons (Note that once you know a, you look up what symbol to use for X; i.e. a
and X give the same information.), b neutrons and has c bound electrons. It is written as
a+b +(a−c)
a X
The atomic number is a, the atomic mass or weight is a + b and the net electric charge is a − c. For example,
a fully ionized Carbon-14 atom is written
14 +6
6 C
while a singly ionized Helium-4 atom is written
+1
4
2 He
Again, note that we really don’t need to write the number of protons and the atomic symbol, so we will
usually write the two atoms above as
14 +6
C
and
4
He+1
Subatomic Particles
Particle
Charge
(in units of electron charge)
Mass
(in kg)
Symbol(s)
electron
positron (anti-electron)
neutron
proton
anti-proton
neutrino
photon (gamma ray)
alpha-particle
-1
+1
0
+1
-1
0
0
+2
9 × 10−31
9 × 10−31
1.674 × 10−27
1.672 × 10−27
1.672 × 10−27
0
0
6.64 × 10−27
e− , β −
e+ , β +
n, n0
+
p, p , H+ , 11 H+
p−
νe , νµ , ντ
γ, hν
α, He2+ , 42 He2+